PSYCHOLOGY   AND 
THE  CHRISTIAN  LIFE 


T.   W.   PYM 


Psychology  and  the 
Christian  Life 

T.  W.  PYM,  D.S.O.,  M.A. 


Psychology  and  the 
Christian  Life 


BY 

T.  W.  PYM,  D.S.O.,  M.A. 

Head  of  Cambridge  House, 

Examining  Chaplain  to  the  Bishop  of  Southwark, 

Formerly  Chaplain  of  Trinity  College, 

Cambridge 


New  'HSr  York 
George  H.  Doran  Company 


Copyright,  1922, 
By  George  H.  Doran  Company 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


TO 

MY  WIFE 


00 


Preface 


This  book  is  intended  to  be  simply  an  introduction 
to  the  study  of  psychology  in  its  application  to  the 
Christian  way  of  life.  Each  chapter  touches  upon 
subjects  which  deserve  a  volume  to  themselves. 

Chapter  I  is  the  barest  skeleton  of  general  psycho- 
logy, admittedly  only  just  sufficient  to  give  to  the 
beginner  an  idea  of  its  method  and  of  some  of  its 
principles.  Chapter  II  does  no  more  than  open  the 
door  to  the  possibilities  of  psychology  applied  out- 
side religion.  In  Chapter  III  I  have  omitted  the 
deliberate  criticism  which  the  teaching  of  the  New 
Nancy  School  might  seem  to  require  before  it  was 
applied  to  Christian  teaching  on  Faith.  Nor  in  this 
chapter  is  the  psychology  of  Faith  considered  except 
in  one  limited  aspect.  Throughout  the  constant 
references  made  in  Chapters  IV  and  V  to  the  new 
psychology  and  psycho-analysis  I  have  intentionally 
refrained  from  attempting  to  divide  and  further  de- 
fine the  "sub-conscious,"  and  from  using  such  words 
as  "sublimate"  or  "complex."  (Apart  from  a  de- 
sire to  avoid  difficult  and  technical  language  I  find 
in  the  new  psychology  many  phrases  or  words  used 


viii  Preface 

freely  but  seldom  with  exactly  the  same  content  by 
different  psychologists.  "Complex"  is  just  such  a 
word.)  Again  in  these  chapters  neither  sin  nor 
temptation  are  considered  fully;  examples  of  both 
are  given  to  illustrate  certain  principles ;  further  ap- 
plication of  those  principles  can  be  easily  made  by 
the  reader. 

Chapters  VI  and  VII,  dealing  with  the  Person- 
ality of  Jesus  Christ,  must  seem,  after  what  has  been 
written  during  the  centuries  since  His  earthly  life, 
superficial  and  inadequate,  chiefly  because  of  their 
omissions.  In  Chapter  VIII  I  have  not  tried  to  do 
more  than  illustrate  the  possible  application  of 
psychological  common  sense  to  life  in  general. 

Some  of  this  book's  omissions  can  be  repaired  by 
anyone  willing  to  read  one  or  more  of  the  books 
mentioned  in  the  bibliography  on  page  172.  The 
object  of  this  book  is  to  provide  something  in  the 
nature  of  a  summary  of  psychological  theory,  in  so 
far  as  it  bears  on  Christian  Faith  and  ethics,  for  the 
use  of  those  who  have  not  the  time  to  read  deeply  in 
psychology  yet  need  the  help  that  psychology  can 
give. 

The  full  application  of  psychology  to  Christianity 
obviously  demands  more  exact  scholarship  and 
greater  scientific  learning  than  any  page  of  this 
volume  displays.  It  is  strange  that  no  such  book  has 
yet  been  written;  when  it  comes  to  be  written  it  is 


Preface  ix 

bound  to  be,  in  language,  length  and  price,  beyond 
the  range  of  the  ordinary  man  and  woman.  I  have, 
therefore,  done  my  best  to  fill  a  need  which  I  believe 
to  be  real  and  urgent,  but  I  am  also  conscious  of  the 
inadequacy  of  this  book  to  its  subject. 

The  new  psychology  is  developing  so  rapidly  that 
it  may  seem  risky  as  yet  to  attempt,  on  the  founda- 
tion of  its  conclusions  or  inconclusiveness,  to  build 
anything  into  the  fabric  of  religion.  I  believe  that 
the  risk  must  be  run.  Although  we  cannot  afford  to 
adopt  as  axioms  in  religion  what  are  only  disputed 
theories  in  the  realm  of  psychology,  neither  can  we 
afford  to  disregard  and  to  neglect  the  use  of  dis- 
coveries in  this  science  simply  through  the  fear  that 
the  scientific  conclusions  of  this  year  may  be  modi- 
fied by  those  of  another.  However,  with  one  ex- 
ception, I  hope  I  may  fairly  claim  to  have  taken  as 
a  basis  for  discussion  moderate  rather  than  extreme 
theories  in  psychology.  Admittedly  in  following 
Coue  and  Baudouin  in  Chapter  III  I  have  attached 
much  greater  importance  to  the  influence  and  power 
of  reflective  auto-suggestion  than  most  psycho- 
therapists would  probably  allow. 

On  many  points  the  psychologists  differ  so  con- 
siderably that  one  is  bound  to  choose  between  alter- 
nate theories;  as  for  instance,  in  the  adoption  of 
"self,"  "sex"  and  "social"  (or  "herd")  as  the  three 
most  fundamental  or  primary  instincts  in  man. 


x  Preface 

The  books  to  which  I  consciously  owe  my  in- 
formation in  psychology  are  acknowledged  in  the 
text  or  at  the  end.  My  other  chief  debt  in  the  pro- 
duction of  this  book  is  acknowledged  in  the  dedi- 
cation. 

T.  W.  PYM. 


Contents 


I:  PSYCHOLOGY  AND  COMMON  SENSE  .  .  15 
Psychology  viewed  as  Applied  Common  Sense 
— Concentration  of  Attention — Power  of  "Sug- 
gestion"— The  Subconscious  Mind — Adaptabil- 
ity and  Habit — Dissociation  and  Repression — 
Distribution  of  Energy — Association  of  Ideas — 
The  Primary  Instincts — Certain  Principles. 

II:  PSYCHOLOGY  IN  THE  WORLD  ....  35 
The  General  Relation  of  Psychology  to  Reli- 
gion— Psychology  Applied  to  Industry — To 
Publicity— To  Education— To  Medicine— Need 
of  Its  Further  Application  to  Religion — "Sug- 
gestion" Defined — Auto- Suggestion. 

Ill:  FAITH  AND  SUGGESTION 43 

Faith  and  Effort  in  Christianity— The  Psychol- 
ogy of  Faith — Spontaneous  Auto- Suggestion 
With  and  Without  Religious  Faith— The  Law 
of  Reversed  Effort — The  Power  of  Imagination 
— The  Failure  of  Faith — "Reflective  Sugges- 
tion" as  an  Act  of  Religious  Faith  Described 
— Its  Dangers — Other  Questions  to  be  Consid- 
ered First. 

IV:  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  SIN 73 

The  New  Psychology— The  Psychology  of  the 
Liar — Of  Temptation  in  General — Sin  as  Mis- 
application of  Energy — Sin  Through  the  Prim- 
ary Instincts  — Redirection  of  Energy — The  Re- 
ligious Instinct. 

V:  CHRISTIANITY   AND   PSYCHO-ANALYSIS    100 
The   Psychology  of   Repentance — Of    Forgive- 
ness— Comparison  with  Psycho-Analysis;— Con- 
fession— Self-Examination    by    Association    of 
Ideas — Worry  and  Remorse. 


xii  Contents 


VI:  THE       PSYCHOLOGY       OF      JESUS— HIS 

TEACHING 117 

The  Psychology  of  Jesus — His  Sinlessness — 
His  Confidence — His  Teaching  on  Faith — On 
Prayer — The  Psychology  of  the  Forgiving 
Spirit — The  Power  of  Love  and  Hate — In- 
ternal Harmony — Unifying  Purpose  in  Life. 

VII :  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  JESUS— HIS  PRAC- 
TICE     135 

Psycho-Therapy  and  Suggestion — The  Healing 
Miracles  of  Jesus — Their  General  Conditions — 
Attitude  of  Mind  Required— The  Method  of 
of  Jesus — Sickness  and  Forgiveness — The  In- 
sight of  Jesus — Psychological  Teaching  of  Jesus. 

VIII:  GENERAL  CONCLUSIONS 151 

The  Cure  of  Souls— The  Training  of  the 
Clergy — Expert  Directors — The  Secret  of  Per- 
sonality— Need  of  Hope — Formation  of  Public 
Opinion — Contribution  of  the  Individual — The 
Influence  of  the  Idle  Word — Public  Worship 
and  Attention — Length  of  Services — The  Psy- 
chology of  the  Masses — Their  Recreation — 
Conclusion. 

FOR  FURTHER  READING 172 

INDEX      ...    .     .     .    ,.,    .     .     .,    w    .    ...    »    ...    173 


Psychology  and  the 
Christian  Life 


Chapter  I:     Psychology  and 
Common  Sense 

Psychology  is  the  science  of  behaviour;  its  field 
of  inquiry  is  human  nature.  It  is  the  one  branch 
of  science  within  the  understanding  of  the  ordinary 
man.  The  science  of  chemistry  needs  books,  labora- 
tories, demonstrators.  No  one  can  study  mechanical 
science  without  machines  or  drawings  of  them,  and 
even  then  their  parts  and  functions  must  be  explained 
to  him.  These  and  all  the  other  sciences  defy  the 
amateur. 

And  if  by  "amateur"  we  mean  the  casual  and 
inaccurate  inquirer,  who  thinks  that  any  fool  can  be 
a  scientific  student  of  human  nature,  then  psychology 
too  defies  him.  Psychology  has  its  experts,  its  men 
of  research,  its  technique,  its  laboratories,  its  schools. 
Yet  in  a  sense,  we  are  all  psychologists  and  every 
man  may  be  his  own  laboratory.  If  I  have  a  per- 
sistent pain  in  my  body,  I  go  to  a  doctor  and  rely 
upon  him  to  discover  what  is  wrong  with  me  and 
why,  and  to  prescribe  accordingly:  if  he  tells  me 
that  I  need  it,  I  allow  him  to  put  a  cage  over  my 
face  and  to  open  me  up,  so  that  he  can  satisfy  his 
is 


16  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

natural  curiosity  as  to  my  general  contents.  During 
my  convalescence  he  may,  if  I  play  my  cards  well, 
consent  to  explain  to  me  better  than  I  knew  before 
what  was  wrong  with  my  works ;  my  nurse  may  or 
may  not  be  induced  to  supply  further  information. 
Yet,  however  much  I  may  glean  from  these  sources 
and  from  a  study  of  my  own  physical  sensations,  I 
leave  the  nursing-home  with  a  knowledge  of  surgery 
and  medicine  that  barely  justifies  even  the  use  of 
the  word  "amateur."  If  I  have  been  very  quick  and 
bright  on  the  subject  in  the  sick-room,  my  medical 
attendant  may  say  unguardedly,  "You  ought  to  be  3 
doctor  yourself."  But  even  with  this  encourage- 
ment I  must  forsake  other  studies  and  take  up  this 
matter  professionally,  if  I  am  to  fulfil  his  hopes 
of  me. 

Or  again,  I  may  have  a  cold;  someone  has  told 
me  (I  could  never  have  guessed  it)  that  eucalyptus 
will  cure  me.  Perhaps  it  does.  But  how  did  I  get 
the  cold?  I  suppose  that  I  sat  in  a  draught  or  that 
somebody  sneezed  over  me.  Such  information  is 
easy  enough  to  acquire  and  is  not  scientific,  but  even 
these  possible  causes  of  my  sore  throat  and  heavy 
head  are  not  things  I  should  have  been  likely  to  find 
out  unless  someone  had  told  me;  perhaps  it  was  in 
the  papers.  Next  time  I  will  use  a  spray.  A  cold  is 
a  very  simple  affair,  common  enough  at  least  to  seem 
simple ;  but  any  reasonable  connection  between  damp 


Psychology  and  Common  Sense     17 

socks  on  my  feet  and  germs  in  my  nose  or  throat  is 
not  easily  apparent  to  me;  nor  have  I  more  than  a 
nodding  acquaintance  with  my  mucous  membrane. 
I  may  persevere  year  after  year  in  the  study  of  the 
colds  I  catch,  use  many  remedies,  discuss  more,  but 
at  the  end  of  it  all  I  shall  still  be  less  than  an  amateur 
in  the  science  of  bacteriology  or  physiology. 

But  when  I  pass  from  the  behaviour  of  germs  to 
human  behaviour  I  am  on  familiar  ground.  Every 
conscious  moment  of  my  life  I  am  behaving.  I  am 
myself  a  laboratory  for  the  study  of  this  science  and 
I  can  study  it  myself.  I  am  surrounded  by  other 
people  whose  conduct  I  can  observe  and  compare 
with  my  own.  For  instance,  if  I  am  working  out 
a  mathematical  problem  and  do  not  notice  my  friend's 
remark  the  first  time  he  says,  "Do  you  agree  with 
the  views  of  the  Daily  Mail?"  I  should  be  able  after- 
wards to  explain  why  I  had  not  answered  him  at  once. 
I  should  say  that  my  attention  had  been  concentrated 
on  my  work;  that  my  mind  was  so  fully  occupied 
with  my  calculation  that  no  remark  so  lacking  in 
originality  as  his  own,  could  under  the  circumstances 
penetrate  quickly  to  my  consciousness  and  divert  my 
interest.  That  explanation  is  psychological ;  the  rea- 
son given  would,  in  the  main,  be  right.  It  sounds 
obvious  enough  but  it  brings  me  to  the  threshold  of 
the  science.  Certain  outward  conduct  on  my  part 
has  been  noticed ;  I  can  explain  that  conduct  to  myself 


i8  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

or  to  anyone  else  in  terms  of  mind.  Such  observa- 
tion of  human  conduct  in  cause  and  effect  forms 
the  whole  structure  of  psychology. 

The  above  illustration  has  been  chosen  as  a  fair 
sample  of  the  average  man's  psychological  interest. 
He  would  scout  the  idea  that  it  demanded  or  de- 
served any  further  definition  than  "ordinary  common 
sense."  Certainly  that  description  suffices.  One  pur- 
pose of  this  book  is  to  encourage  any  reader  who 
claims,  as  all  men  claim,  that  he  has  an  average 
supply  of  this  common  sense,  to  develop  it  on  psy- 
chological lines,  to  extend  its  range,  and  to  apply 
it  more  particularly  to  morals  and  religion. 

We  have  noted  the  point  at  which  most  people 
would  stop  thinking  out  the  cause  of  the  particular 
behaviour  already  described.  Let  us  try  to  get  be- 
hind the  explanation  already  given  and  discover 
causes  further  back.  Such  questions  as  the  follow- 
ing present  themselves :  "When  I  am  concentrated  on 
work  which  requires  my  full  attention  and  freedom 
from  interruption,  why  exactly  is  it  that  a  casual 
remark  does  not  at  once  break  into  my  conscious 
mind?  The  vibrations  of  the  voice  strike  my  ear, 
my  hearing  is  not  impaired,  and  yet  I  do  not  really 
hear  the  remark.  Or  do  I  hear  it  and  not  know 
that  I  hear  it?  Am  I  really  prevented  from  appre- 
hending the  remark  at  once,  or  is  it  simply  that 


Psychology  and  Common  Sense     19 

I  do  not  want  to  hear  it  ?    What  do  I  mean  when  I 
say  that  I  am  concentrated  on  anything?" 

Now  the  concentration  of  attention  is  in  general 
character  similar  to  the  concentration  of  physical 
energy  required  for  driving  a  golf-ball  or  delivering 
the  final  punch  in  a  boxing  contest.  At  the  moment 
of  impact  the  maximum  of  physical  force,  not  merely 
of  hand  or  arm  but  of  the  whole  body,  is  imparted 
through  the  head  of  the  driver  or  the  boxer's  fist. 
The  club  or  the  fist  is  the  channel  by  which  the  energy 
of  the  whole  body  is  conducted  from  within  to  with- 
out. The  method  must  be  learned  and  practised 
before  perfection  or  even  skill  can  be  reached.  In 
much  the  same  way  mental  energy  is  summoned  from 
various  reserves  and  is  applied  to  the  one  thing  to 
which  a  man  wishes  to  give  concentrated  attention. 
To  a  certain  extent  we  can  all  so  apply  our  attention, 
just  as  any  man  can  deliver  a  blow  of  some  sort  with 
his  hand;  but  equally,  training  in  mental  concentra- 
tion is  necessary  to  any  man  who  wishes  to  have 
available  the  maximum  of  mental  energy  to  use 
where  he  wishes.  In  this  way  we  can  detect  the 
difference  between  "hearing"  and  "listening."  I  hear 
the  remark  of  my  interrupting  friend;  the  words 
become  recorded  automatically  through  my  receiver, 
the  ear;  but  I  do  not  listen.  I  have  drawn  on  the 
mental  energy  usually  at  the  disposal  of  my  hearing 
faculty  and  am  at  the  moment  applying  it  elsewhere. 


2O  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

If  I  want  to  I  can  test  the  degree  to  which  my  work 
interests  me  and  the  amount  of  concentration  I  am 
putting  or  am  capable  of  putting  into  it. 

But  the  matter  can  be  taken  still  further.  Not 
only  my  mind  but  my  will  is  engaged.  I  am  work- 
ing because  I  want  to  work ;  that  does  not  mean  that 
I  like  to  work;  it  only  means  that,  whether  I  like 
it  or  not,  I  have  decided  to  do  it.  In  that  sense  I 
"wish"  to  do  it,  I  "will"  do  it.  I  am  not  conscious 
of  thinking  this  out  as  I  sit  down  at  the  table;  but  if 
I  try  to  think  it  out  now,  I  know  that  certain  motives 
made  me  decide  to  work,  and  that  as  their  result  at 
least  one  thought  passed  through  my  mind  at  the 
time:  "I  will  do  so-and-so."  That  suggestion,  made 
to  myself,  set  in  motion  a  machinery  of  whose  work- 
ing I  am  not  fully  conscious.  Consciously  I  dismiss 
other  things  from  my  mind,  refresh  my  memory  as 
to  the  exact  point  at  which  I  must  take  up  the  work 
and  consciously  apply  myself  to  it.  But  at  the  same 
time  the  determination  to  work,  the  intention  or  will 
to  do  it,  is  affecting  me  in  those  vast  and  largely 
unknown  regions  of  the  mind  below  the  level  of 
consciousness — the  subconscious  mind.1  This  will 

1  "A  little  reflection  on  human  behaviour,  as  we  experience 
it  in  ourselves  and  as  we  see  it  all  round  us  in  the  world, 
should  suffice  to  convince  us  that  many  human  thoughts  and 
actions  have  no  consecutive  antecedents  in  the  stream  of  con- 
sciousness, but  are  motived  by  causes  arising  from  some  other 
source.  Sometimes  we  can  clearly  recognise  the  source,  some- 
times we  have  a  vague  inkling  of  it,  and  sometimes  the  causes 
of  our  thoughts  and  actions  are  hidden  from  our  introspective 


Psychology  and  Common  Sense    21 

not  help  me  if  I  have  turned  to  the  work  reluctantly 
or  in  doubt  as  to  my  ability  to  do  it ;  for  then  I  should 
have  set  the  machinery  of  my  subconscious  mind  in 
the  reverse  direction.  All  my  efforts  to  do  the  work 
will  be  handicapped  by  the  effects  of  the  suggestion 
I  have  made  to  myself  that  I  cannot  really  do  it. 
However  great  the  concentration  of  my  mental 
energy  on  the  matter  in  hand  I  shall  more  quickly 
set  free  energy  to  listen  to  interruptions  because 
fundamentally,  even  though  I  do  not  consciously 
think  so,  my  attitude  could  be  expressed  in  the  words, 
"Interruptions  don't  really  matter." 

But  if  I  mean  to  do  the  work  and  believe  I  can, 
my  concentration  of  mental  energy  is  assisted  by 
the  subconscious  mind.  How  ?  We  cannot  tell ;  but 
it  is  as  if  some  sentinel  were  placed  over  me  to  block 
the  entrance  of  anything  irrelevant.  That  is  partly 
why,  when  I  become  conscious  that  I  am  being  ad- 
dressed, it  is  at  first  a  struggle  to  divert  the  amount 

gaze.  The  causes  of  which  we  are  half  conscious  can  often 
be  brought  into  full  consciousness  by  deliberate  effort.  Some- 
times also  a  motive  of  which,  up  to  a  certain  poinf  of  time, 
we  had  been  quite  unconscious  will  suddenly  flash  into  con- 
sciousness. Again,  we  are  all  familiar  with  disconnected 
thoughts,  images  and  emotions  which  arise  in  consciousness 
and  of  whose  connection  with  the  rest  of  the  conscious  stream, 
or  with  conscious  memories,  we  are  quite  ignorant. 

"To  account  for  these  phenomena  psychologists  have  been 
driven  to  assume  the  existence  of  an  unconscious  part  of  the 
mind,  lying,  so  to  speak,  below  the  conscious,   from  which 
psychic  elements  may  rise  into  the  stream  of  consciousness." 
A.  G.  Tansley  in  "The  New  Psychology,"  p.  38. 

This  "unconscious  part  of  the  mind"  is  referred  to  in  the 
present  book  as  the  "subconscious  mind." 


22  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

of  mental  energy  necessary  to  attend  to  the  inter- 
ruption. 

Let  us  now  suppose  that  a  man  is  habitually  inter- 
rupted in  his  work ;  perhaps  he  shares  rooms  or  an 
office  with  other  people.  Some  of  the  interruptions 
are  in  the  nature  of  openings  for  irrelevant  conversa- 
tion :  his  friend  cannot  read  the  daily  paper  without 
commenting  on  it  aloud ;  another  person  in  the  room 
works  better,  if  he  knocks  off  every  half -hour  and 
talks  or  reads  for  a  few  minutes.  The  persistent 
worker  suffers  therefore,  not  from  one  interruption 
as  an  isolated  experience '  but  recurrently.  How  will 
this  repetition  of  the  nuisance  affect  his  conduct? 
We  shall  not  discuss  the  forcible  words  or  actions 
which  he  might  employ  to  secure  complete  silence, 
but  imagine  that  he  is  obliged  to  do  his  best  under 
the  given  conditions. 

It  is  clear  that  his  ability  to  make  progress  with  his 
work  will  depend  upon  his  ability  to  adapt  or  adjust 
himself  to  circumstances.  Part  of  such  adaptation 
may  come  automatically;  the  development  of  the 
human  race  through  the  ages  has  been  one  long 
history  of  adjustments.  The  man's  own  life,  mental 
and  physical,  from  the  cradle  onwards  has  consisted 
of  one  adjustment  after  another.  Adaptability, 
to  some  degree  at  any  rate,  is  a  universal  quality. 
Largely  without  realizing  how  it  comes  about,  a  man 
will  adapt  himself  to  interruptions,  as  he  forms  any 


Psychology  and  Common  Sense     23 

other  new  habit  of  life  necessary  to  his  environment. 
How,  then,  will  he  behave? 

1 i )  The  conversationalist  may  need  to  repeat  his 
remark  three  or  four  times  before  gaining  the  con- 
scious attention  of  the  worker.    Imagine  that  for  the 
first  time  you  are  reading  a  book  in  a  room  with  a 
striking  clock.     At  the  first  quarter  you  notice  the 
strike,  that  is  to  say  you  become  conscious  or  aware 
of  it.    After  three  hours  you  have  adapted  yourself 
to  it  and  you  cease  to  regard  it.    How  has  this  come 
about  ?    Your  only  conscious  thought  on  the  subject 
has  been:  "Oh,  that's  a  striking  clock!     I  suppose 
it  will  do  that  every  quarter.    Well,  it  won't  interfere 
with  me."     By  some  such  thought  you  are  doing 
very  much  more  than  you  imagine.    You  are  discon- 
necting the  strike  of  the  clock  from  the  rest  of  your 
experience ;  you  are  putting  the  clock  and  all  thoughts 
of  it  into  a  corner  of  your  mind,  into  which  you  do 
not  intend  to  look.    Each  time  the  clock  strikes  you 
do  this  again  until  at  last  the  clock  is  "dissociated" 
from  your  conscious  mind  altogether.     All  thought 
of  it  is  repressed.    All  adaptation  to  circumstances  is 
not  necessarily  achieved  through  this  dissociation  and 
repression,  but  much  of  it  is.    The  worker  may  treat 
the  interrupting  talker  in  the  same  way  and  deliber- 
ately or  almost  automatically  disconnect  him,  cut  him 
off,  cease  to  regard  or  even  be  aware  of  his  speech. 

(2)  This  conduct,  however,  will  not  suffice  if  the 


24  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

interruptions  come  from  one  of  those  people  who  are 
not  content  to  make  casual  remarks  without  some 
acknowledgment.  The  worker  may  discover  that  a 
policy  of  mere  silence  will  not  succeed  and  that  he 
must  adapt  himself  to  the  nuisance  in  some  other 
way.  He  therefore  develops  a  different  habit,  again 
not  always  deliberately  but  almost  by  accident ;  at  any 
rate  the  habit  would  seem  to  him  accidental  unless 
he  considered  it  closely.  Practically  all  the  remarks 
of  the  casual  talker  can  be  answered  with  a  very  small 
expenditure  of  mental  energy.  The  longer  the  prac- 
tice continues  on  both  sides  the  less  energy  will  the 
worker  need  to  spare  for  this. 

Talker:  "They  prophesy  an  anticyclone  soon,  I 
see." 

Worker:  "About  time  too.  Rotten  weather  for 
the  time  of  year." 

Soon  the  habit  becomes  so  fixed  that  no  pause  is 
necessary  before  the  reply  except  that  calculated  to 
remind  the  talker  that  his  conversation  is  inoppor- 
tune. The  whole  business  is  eventually  so  automatic 
that,  given  four  or  five  such  interruptions  an  hour, 
the  worker  could  afterwards  only  recall  with  an  effort 
the  remarks  made  on  either  side. 

It  must  be  noted  that  both  the  above  methods, 
while  enabling  the  worker  to  maintain  persistent 
work,  will  inevitably,  though  he  himself  may  not 
notice  it,  impair  the  quality  of  that  work.  When 


Psychology  and  Common  Sense    25 

using  the  first  method,  however  much  he  may  dis- 
connect the  interruptions  from  his  conscious  think- 
ing, he  is  not  at  harmony.  There  is  a  jangle,  a 
struggle,  however  slight,  going  on  within  him,  no 
less  actual  because  he  is  barely  conscious  of  it.  Some 
of  his  energy  is  being  diverted  to  sentinel  duty.  If 
he  use  the  second  method  some  of  his  mental  energy, 
however  little,  has  to  be  diverted  to  answering  the 
talker,  and  both  methods  prevent  him  from  being 
absolutely  free  to  concentrate  the  entire  attention  of 
his  mind  on  his  work. 

This  general  description  of  behaviour  is  not  meant 
to  be  exhaustive.  Many  other  considerations  may 
affect  the  worker's  conduct  in  one  direction  or 
another,  according  to  his  general  temperament  and 
character  and  so  forth.  If  we  were  considering  an 
actual  person  known  to  us  or  a  particular  type  of 
person,  our  description  of  his  probable  behaviour 
would  be  modified  accordingly.  For  instance  there 
is  the  type  of  man  who  would  never  really  acquiesce 
in  those  conditions  of  work;  he  tells  himself  that  he 
cannot  work  properly  under  those  conditions  and  that 
"So-and-So  gets  on  his  nerves."  His  work  suffers 
not  only  at  the  moments  of  interruption  but  in  be- 
tween, when  he  is  expecting  an  interruption  to  come, 
and  immediately  after  the  interruption,  when  with 
difficulty  he  suppresses  his  irritation.  The  lack  of 
complete  harmony  already  mentioned  has  emerged 


26  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

into  his  conscious  mind ;  the  nuisance  is  not  entirely 
detached  and  repressed,  nor  can  the  man  bring  him- 
self to  settle  the  thing  one  way  or  the  other.  He 
continues  to  make  strenuous  efforts  to  carry  on  his 
work  and  to  remain  civil,  but  all  the  time  he  is  ex- 
pecting to  fail  in  the  attempt;  every  day  when  he 
goes  to  work  he  makes  the  suggestion  to  himself, 
"I  can't  do  it;  my  work  is  bound  to  be  poor." 
Thereby  he  sets  in  motion  a  machinery  which  will 
go  far  to  ensure  the  failure  he  is  expecting.  Indeed 
the  very  strenuousness  of  the  efforts  he  makes  to 
concentrate  on  his  work  and  to  keep  his  temper  will 
emphasise  and  strengthen  the  suggestion  with  which 
he  started  the  day:  "However  hard  I  try,  I  shan't 
succeed." 

Let  us  now  carry  this  inquiry  into  the  causes  of 
behaviour  still  one  stage  further  back.  Reference 
has  already  been  made  to  the  existence  of  motives  of 
some  kind  which  bring  the  man  to  sit  down  to  his 
work.  Motives  there  must  be.  We  have  now  to 
ask  ourselves  what  seems  a  silly  question ;  because  at 
first  it  appears  silly  most  people  never  ask  it,  or  at 
least  never  attempt  to  answer  it.  Yet  it  is  the  kind 
of  question  Socrates  thought  fit  to  press.  It  is  this : 
"Why  exactly  do  I  do  anything?  Why  do  I  choose 
one  thing  instead  of  another?  When,  for  example, 
I  start  what  I  call  'my  work,'  why  do  I  do  so  ?  What 
is  the  impulse?  What  is  my  aim?"  To  put  the 


Psychology  and  Common  Sense    27 

question  in  a  more  practical  and  finite  form,  "Have 
I  any  purpose  in  life?    If  so,  what  is  it?" 

Now  the  possible  answer  to  the  first  batch  of  ques- 
tions is  simply  legion:  "Because  I  like  it.  Because 
it's  my  livelihood.  Because  I  have  ambitions.  Be- 
cause it  interests  me.  Because  it  will  help  other 
people.  Because  it  will  help  me  to  beat  So-and-So. 
Because  So-and-So  wants  me  to  do  it."  Each  of 
these  answers  could  be  followed  by  a  further  "Why?" 
in  the  true  Socratic  method  until  the  fundamental 
reason  were  reached,  and  that  reason  would  almost 
certainly  have  reference  to  the  other  question,  "What 
is  your  purpose  in  life?"  So  could  any  action  be 
traced  back  to  its  source,  provided  the  analyst  were 
sufficiently  skilful.  The  method  employed  by  him 
or  by  oneself  in  attempting  to  determine  the  causes 
of  one's  actions  and  behaviour  is  largely  that  of  the 
"association  of  ideas."  There  is  a  chain  of  ideas 
and  incidents  between  even  a  trivial  action  and  its 
primary  source.  Many  of  the  links  in  this  chain  will 
become  obvious  on  examination,  but  some  of  them 
may  be  missing;  a  deliberate  effort  to  recall  them  to 
mind  may  or  may  not  set  in  motion  a  machinery 
which  will  cause  the  incident  or  idea  to  emerge  into 
the  conscious  mind  from  that  storehouse  of  all  mem- 
ories— the  subconscious  mind.  But  this  will  not 
always  happen.  When  I  am  trying  to  analyse  an 
action  of  my  own,  I  find  perhaps  that  it  sprang  from 


28  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

a  sudden  idea  that  flashed  into  my  mind  as  someone 
was  talking  to  me.  The  idea  had  a  real,  though  not 
obvious,  connection  with  what  was  being  said.  I 
cannot  trace  the  connection  either  in  the  conversation 
or  outside  it ;  from  some  preconceived  notion  of  my 
own  I  search  for  the  link  on  the  wrong  lines.  I  do 
not  get  it.  Perhaps  someone  else  could  help  me. 
Anyhow,  the  thing  being  trivial  does  not  matter;  I 
was  only  trying  to  know  myself  better.  Anyone  who 
so  tries  to  analyse  the  causes  of  his  actions  will  find 
by  practice  that  the  association  of  one  idea  with 
another,  the  connection  between  thought  and  be- 
haviour, is  by  degrees  easier  to  establish.  I  am  not 
at  the  moment  advocating  any  such  detailed  intro- 
spection, which  may  be  both  morbid  and  silly;  it  is 
enough  to  note  that  anyone  who  cares  to  do  so  can 
prove  to  himself  the  association  of  ideas  from  pri- 
mary cause  to  ultimate  action,  even  if  all  the  links 
cannot  always  be  found. 

In  the  principal  example  which  we  have  been  con- 
sidering the  cause  is  easy  to  determine;  the  man  is 
concentrating  all  his  mental  energy  on  his  work  for 
some  reason  which  he  could  easily  give.  There  will 
not  be  many  links  to  find  before  we  reach  the  final 
cause ;  he  wants  to  secure  a  certain  position  in  order 
that  he  may  marry;  he  is  ambitious  and  wishes  to 
become  distinguished  above  the  heads  of  other 
people;  he  is  out  after  money  and  what  money  can 


Psychology  and  Common  Sense     29 

buy,  or  he  is  driven  by  fear  of  poverty;  he  aims  at 
power  and  leadership ;  he  believes  he  has  a  mission  in 
life  and  works  to  improve  the  conditions  of  society 
by  attaining  a  position  of  influence  or  by  advancing1 
science  and  learning.  Whatever  the  fundamental 
cause  of  his  desire  to  work,  it  will  be  found  to  be 
connected  with  a  "primary  instinct."  The  word 
"instinct"  can  be  and  is  used  loosely  to  describe 
forces  which  are  not  primary;  for  instance,  "curi- 
osity," which  is  part  of  our  human  inheritance,  is 
often  referred  to  as  a  "natural  instinct."  So  it  is,  but 
it  cannot  rank  as  of  the  same  primary  importance  as 
for  instance  the  "self-instinct,"  which,  unless  we 
modify  it  by  thought,  makes  every  person  put  self 
first;  or  again  the  "sex-instinct,"  by  which  creation, 
reproduction  and  love  figure  among  the  chief  factors 
in  determining  human  conduct.  By  reference  to  such 
primary  instincts  most  conduct  can  in  the  end  be 
explained,  not  merely  conduct  in  matters  of  impor- 
tance, such  as  a  man's  work  in  life,  but  often  enough 
the  pace  at  which  he  walks,  the  other  habits  he  dis- 
plays or  adopts. 

Thus  our  purpose  in  life,  if  we  have  one,  the  object 
at  which  we  aim,  is  connected  with  the  various 
primary  instincts.  One  man  is  led  along  by  one  such 
instinct  and  the  whole  purpose  of  his  life  is  directed 
by  it  with  or  without  his  knowledge.  In  another 
man  a  primary  instinct  is  baulked,  and  his  whole  life 


30  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

and  most  of  his  actions  are  influenced  by  the  stop- 
page. Yet  another  man  controls  and  regulates  his 
instincts,  as  far  as  he  can,  to  serve  some  set  purpose, 
himself  compelled  thereto  by  the  predominance  of 
one  of  them  within  him. 

Let  us  now  return  to  the  point  from  which  we  set 
out.  We  started  with  the  assumption  that  the  study 
of  human  nature  and  behaviour — psychology — can 
be  undertaken  by  the  ordinary  person.  We  took 
what  is  an  everyday  occurrence  in  the  life  of  many 
people  and  examined  it.  Much  that  has  been  said 
about  it  in  this  chapter  would  have  revealed  itself  to 
anyone  who  thought  it  worth  while  to  apply  ordinary 
common-sense  methods  to  the  investigation.  Only 
on  certain  points  have  I  introduced  facts  or  theories 
derived  from  the  researches  of  the  professed  psychol- 
ogist. It  must  be  admitted  that  the  inquiry  has 
opened  up  immense  practical  possibilities ;  these  will 
be  further  indicated  in  what  follows.  For  the  mo- 
ment let  us  record  the  facts  or  working  principles 
of  which  we  have  obtained  a  glimpse,  not  in  tech- 
nically accurate  phrase  but  in  practical  language : 

(1)  No   one   can   think   without    using   mental 
energy.     This  energy  may  be  dissipated  or  concen- 
trated, wasted  or  developed  at  will. 

(2)  Everyone  has  "sub-conscious  mind,"  mind, 
that  is  to  say,  of  whose  workings  the  person  is  not 
conscious.     This  sub-conscious  mind  is  extremely 


Psychology  and  Common  Sense     31 

sensitive  to  suggestions  whether  coming  from  the 
conscious  mind  of  the  person  or  from  outside 
sources.  Such  suggestions  develop  and  extend,  in- 
fluencing the  conscious  thought  and  the  general  be- 
haviour of  the  person  to  a  great  degree. 

(3)  Everyone  adapts  himself  more  or  less  to  cir- 
cumstances.    Such  adjustment  is  a  law  of  life  and 
much  of  it  is  unconscious  or  at  any  rate  unthought. 
Everyone,  however,  can  think  out  the  changes  re- 
quired to  meet  new  circumstances  and  new  ideas,  and 
the  person  who  does  so  gains  greatly  in  power;  by 
selecting  the  new  habits  which  he  will  adopt,  both  of 
mind  and  behaviour,  he  increases  his  natural  adapt- 
ability and  turns  it  into  an  instrument  by  means  of 
which  he  can  deliberately  mould  his  life. 

(4)  To  discover  the  original  first  cause  of  a 
thought  or  action,  a  person  must  find  the  ideas  con- 
nected with  that  thought  or  action  and  trace  them 
back.     Many  of  the  links  may  be  missing,  because 
the  conscious  mind  cannot  contain  the  memories  of 
a  lifetime.     Most  of  these  memories  are  stored  in 
the  sub-conscious  mind  and,  if  a  man  could  recover 
them,  they  would  explain  much  in  his  life  for  which 
he  can  find  no  conscious  reason.     [See  (2).]    The 
method  of  recovering  these  memories  is  known  as 
Psycho-Analysis. 

(5)  Everyone  is  responsible  for  the  loss  of  some  of 
these  connecting  ideas  because  everyone  tries  to  dis- 


32  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

connect  unpleasant  or  forbidden  ideas  and  memories 
from  conscious  thinking.  After  a  time  such  an  idea 
becomes  almost  entirely  disconnected.  The  person 
no  longer  represses  it  consciously.  The  sub-conscious 
mind  guards  it  jealously,  and  we  say  quite  honestly 
"I  don't  know  what  made  me  say  this  or  do  that." 
Or  "Where  on  earth  have  I  heard  that  name  be- 
fore? I  simply  can't  remember."  Forgotten  ideas, 
repressed  wishes  emerge  from  time  to  time  into  the 
conscious  memory  and  appear  in  dreams  wearing  a 
disguise. 

(6)  Such  a  repression  may  lead  to  internal  conflict. 
The  conflict  will  be  serious  if  some  primary  instinct 
has  been  baulked  of  its  natural  outlet.    The  conflict 
will  drain  the  person's  energy  to  a  greater  or  less 
extent,  and  will  affect  behaviour.    In  extreme  cases 
the  behaviour  will  be  abnormal  and  the  repression 
will  result  in  physical  suffering  or  some  kind  of 
nervous  illness. 

(7)  Most  actions  ultimately  spring  from  and  most 
motives  are  based  on  one  of  the  primary  instincts. 
These  for  our  purpose  in  this  book  may  be  defined 
as: 

(o)  The  self-instinct,  the  instinct  of  individuality. 
"To  myself  I  matter  more  than  anything  or  anybody 
else."  The  function  of  this  instinct  is  self-preserva- 
tion, the  care  of  the  individual. 

(&)  The  sex-instinct,  or  instinct  of  reproduction. 


Psychology  and  Common  Sense      33 

The  function  of  this  instinct  is  the  preservation  of 
the  species  or  race. 

(c)  The  social  or  herd  instinct,  the  instinct  by 
which  man  finds  it  necessary  to  pass  his  life  with 
other  people,  and  to  imitate  them.  The  function  of 
this  instinct  is  the  preservation  of  society,  of  the 
existing  community. 

(8)  All  the  human  emotions  as  well  as  all  the  lesser 
instincts,  e.g.,  love,  lust,  curiosity,  fear,  anger,  pride, 
imitation,  ambition,  religion,  jealousy,  hate,  are  con- 
nected with  one  or  more  of  these  primary  instincts. 

(9)  It  follows  that  in  no  conscious  thought  or 
action  does  a  person  employ  merely  what  we  term 
mental  or  physical  energy.     If  most  thought  and 
action  is  derived  ultimately  from  primary  instincts, 
such  thought  or  action  has  an  emotional  quality, 
which,    generally   unacknowledged,    would    be   ex- 
pressed by  a  man  in  the  words  "I  will,"  meaning  "I 
wish."    His  energy  belongs  not  only  to  his  mind  or 
body,  the  instruments  through  which  he  expresses 
himself,  but  also  to  his  instincts  influencing  his  will. 
This  combination  of  energies  may  be  called  psychic 
energy.    In  the  chapters  that  follow,  the  word  energy 
alone  will  be  used,  combining  every  kind  of  energy 
that  goes  to  form  the  driving  power  of  the  human 
personality. 

( 10)  Any  man's  purpose  in  life  is  very  closely  re- 
lated to  his  primary  instincts. 


34  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 


The  first  nine  of  the  above  paragraphs  deal  with 
this  one  question  about  human  thought  and  conduct 
— "How  does  it  happen?  How  does  it  work?" 
They  are  purely  descriptive  and  non-moral.  The  use 
of  such  a  phrase  as  "purpose  in  life"  in  the  tenth 
paragraph  introduces  a  moral  idea. 


Then  what  about  God?, 


Chapter  II :  Psychology  in  the 
World 

This  book  is  not  an  attempt  to  defend  Christianity 
in  the  face  of  modern  psychological  research.1  Long 
ago  the  scientific  proof  of  the  influence  and  power  of 
heredity  and  environment  in  human  life  fastened 
afresh  on  the  defenders  of  religion  the  difficulty  of 
maintaining  a  place  for  free-will ;  to  examine,  as  we 
now  shall,  how  it  is  that  the  inherited  instincts  in- 
fluence a  man's  life,  or  to  how  great  an  extent  his 
opinions  are  moulded  and  his  behaviour  directed  by 
the  "suggestions"  of  his  environment  is  not  really 
to  increase  the  difficulty.  It  always  has  existed  and 
will  remain  to  be  faced,  and  it  has  been  met  again 
and  again. 

The  attitude  in  which  we  approach  psychological 
discovery  is  rather  this :  I  claim  to  have  at  any  rate 
a  margin  in  which  I  can  choose;  I  maintain  that  by 
making  wrong  choices  I  lessen  that  margin  and  bind 
myself  with  chains  not  laid  upon  me  by  any  inheri- 
tance in  the  flesh  or  by  the  circumstances  of  my 

1 A  Christian  apologetic  on  this  point  has  already  been 
written.  Rouse  and  Miller.  "Christian  Experience  and  Psy- 
chological Processes."  (Student  Christian  Movement,  2s.  6d.) 

35 


36  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

environment.  I  believe  that  there  is  a  power  avail- 
able for  my  use,  coming  from  God  and  capable  of 
breaking  those  chains.  I  accept  the  proved  and 
tested  discoveries  of  physical  science;  I  accept,  not 
the  latest  fads,  but  such  facts  and  principles  of 
psychology  as  the  experts  in  that  science  declare  by 
•common  consensus  of  opinion  to  be  established ;  but 
I  also  believe  in  the  Holy  Spirit.  I  am  not,  there- 
fore, concerned  with  the  question  whether  or  not  the 
achievements  of  religious  faith  are  simply  the  result 
of  "suggestion"  working  mechanically  in  the  sub- 
conscious mind;  that  religious  faith  does  so  work, 
I  am  certain;  but  I  am  equally  certain  that  it  works 
also  in  other  ways,  and  that  a  suggestion  based  on  a 
true  faith  in  God  and  applied  psychologically  will  be 
more  powerfully  effective  than  a  suggestion  based 
on  a  belief  in  psychology  alone.  Thus  my  aim  is 
rather  to  discover,  with  the  help  of  psychology,  how 
faith  in  God  works,  and  to  apply  psychology  to  moral 
questions,  problems  of  personal  life  and  the  activities 
of  organized  religious  bodies. 

In  such  application  the  Christian  Church  is  behind- 
hand. In  the  industrial  world  the  new  psychology  is 
being  widely  applied  in  a  practical  way.  Research 
into  fatigue  and  its  causes,  into  the  relation  of  mental 
to  physical  fatigue,  is  resulting  in  many  improve- 
ments in  factory  methods ;  motion-study  is  bringing 
further  improvements.  Motion-study  is  little  more 


Psychology  in  the  World          37 

than  elaborated  common  sense  based  on  the  law  of 
adaptation  and  habit;  if  a  workman's  tools  are  not 
handy  to  his  reach  in  the  order  in  which  he  requires 
them,  or  if  his  physical  movements  at  the  bench  are 
more  frequent  and  complicated  than  they  need  be, 
energy  is  wasted  and  production  is  lowered;  his 
habits  must  be  formed  from  deliberate  choice  and  not 
by  unconscious  adaptation.  Again,  to  introduce  new 
factory  methods  without  regard  to  the  worker's 
suspicion  that  he  is  being  "speeded-up"  merely  to  the 
employer's  advantage  would  show  a  fatal  ignorance 
of  the  most  important  psychological  factor  in  the 
situation.  Such  lessons  are  being  learnt  not  only  by 
employers,  works-managers,  foremen  and  welfare- 
workers,  but  by  many  intelligent  young  men,  who 
are  entering  industry  from  all  classes.  A  young 
mechanic  said  to  me  the  other  day,  "Can  you  recom- 
mend me  a  book  on  Psychology?  I  want  to  learn 
how  to  handle  men."  There  are  hundreds  like  him. 
In  the  realm  of  Commerce  and  also  of  Politics 
what  may  be  called  the  psychology  of  advertisement 
is  being  employed  day  by  day  with  more  delibera- 
tion. The  social  or  herd-instinct  already  referred  to 
is  being  manipulated  and  the  power  of  mass-sugges- 
tion is  wielded  with  definite  intention.  For  example, 
the  firm  that  advertises  from  a  thousand  hoardings 
that  "Mosso"  is  the  cure  for  all  ills,  knows  what  it 
is  about,  and  the  power  of  the  imitative  instinct; 


38  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

millions  of  people  buy  "Mosso"  as  a  result,  certain 
that  countless  tubes,  bottles  or  boxes  of  it  must  be 
sold  annually  to  account  for  the  profits  available  to 
spend  on  advertising:  the  social  instinct  compels 
them;  they  follow  the  herd;  they  try  "Mosso." 
Suggest  to  me  often  enough  that  such  and  such  a 
politician  drugs  or  drinks  and  I  shall  believe  you ;  or 
at  any  rate  I  shall  entertain  suspicions  of  his  integ- 
rity and,  without  repeating  your  actual  rumour,  I 
shall  inevitably  and  without  realizing  it  convey  that 
suspicion  to  others ;  that  is,  at  least,  if  I  do  not  know 
the  psychological  trick  of  it  all.  Tell  me  from  the 
posters  and  columns  of  three  papers  that  Mr.  Mug- 
gins is  the  greatest  Englishman  of  the  century  and 
that  he  has  a  unique  personality,  and  I  shall  in  time 
fall  beneath  its  spell  myself.  I  shall  take  as  my 
opinion  what  I  am  told  is  the  opinion  of  the  herd. 
Common  sense  has  revealed  this  method  to  people  all 
down  the  ages  and  it  has  been  fruitful  in  results. 

Shakespeare  and  Napoleon  had  not  much  to  learn 
about  human  nature;  but  neither  of  those  two  had 
the  tested  scientific  knowledge,  which  is  to-day  at 
the  disposal  of  the  commercial  or  political  manipu- 
lator. The  psychological  method  in  these  depart- 
ments of  life  is  becoming  much  more  widely  under- 
stood and  more  frequently  applied  with  expert 
deliberation. 

Educational  experts  daily  attach  increased  impor- 


Psychology  in  the  World  39 

tance  to  the  study  of  psychology ;  already  to  enter  the 
teaching  profession  without  anv,  interest  in  this 
science  is  to  be  behind  the  times.  The  application 
of  recently  evolved  theories  about  "suggestion"  to 
child-life  is  spreading;  in  a  few  years'  time  no  child 
will  pass  through  any  school  or  even  through  any 
nursery,  uninfluenced  by  the  results  of  modern  child- 
psychology.  Already  for  adults  there  exist  many 
systems  of  mind-culture  and  memory-training,  which 
give  excellent  practical  advice  as  to  how  to  succeed 
in  business  or  other  walks  of  life.  I  do  not  know 
how  far  they  are  psychologically  exact,  but  there  is 
no  reason  to  doubt  much  of  the  efficacy  claimed  for 
them. 

Most  of  all  in  medicine  is  psychology  welcomed 
and  developed,  so  much  so  that  to  many  people 
psychology  simply  means  psycho-therapy.  It  is  well 
to  remember  that  though  this  particular  application 
of  psychology  has  its  own  special  name  and  clinics, 
it  is  only  one  (hitherto  the  most  advanced)  of  the 
developments  of  psychology.  In  saying  further  back 
that  everyone  could  be  a  psychologist  and  should 
endeavour  to  develop  common  sense  by  a  closer 
observation  of  human  nature,  the  last  thing  I  meant 
was  to  encourage  the  fashionable  craze  for  psycho- 
analysis or  to  produce  amateur  psycho-therapists.  A 
general  knowledge  of  physiology  and  other  depart- 
ments of  medical  science  is  absolutely  necessary, 


4O  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

except  for  most  exceptional  people,  before  psycho- 
analysis can  be  successfully  or  indeed  safely  under- 
taken. 

It  is,  however,  the  successful  advance  in  the  appli- 
cation of  psychology  to  medicine  that  emphasizes  the 
lack  of  any  such  serious  application  of  this  science  to 
religion.  Doctors  have  discovered  what  Christians 
should  have  known.  A  method  of  cure  for  mental 
and  physical  ills  is  now  scientifically  demonstrated 
and  applied.  Jesus  indicated  this  method  quite  clearly 
two  thousand  years  ago.  In  some  matters,  such  as 
repentance  and  confession,  His  advice  has  been 
followed  through  obedience  based  on  faith  in  Him. 
Psychology  can  explain  in  part  how  such  obedience 
works;  it  is  humiliating  that  the  advice  of  Jesus 
should  not  have  been  sufficient  for  all  His  followers 
to  act  upon,  but  it  is  better  to  act  upon  it  now  that 
science  is  corroborating  it  than  not  at  all ;  so  encour- 
aged we  may  gain  a  stronger  and  more  effective  faith 
in  Christ's  teaching  about  the  power  of  God,  where 
science  as  such  utters  no  corroboration. 

In  certain  other  respects  groups  of  Christians  or 
individual  followers  of  Christ  have  adopted  His 
teaching  more  literally  and  applied  it  more  deliber- 
ately;  Faith-Healing  is  recognized  and  practised  in 
the  Christian  Church,  not  only  at  Lourdes  but  in  the 
Anglican  Communion  and  in  other  religious  bodies; 
the  genuine  achievements  of  Christian  Science  have 


Psychology  in  the  World  41 

emphasized  the  teaching  of  Jesus  about  faith.  But 
Christianity  as  a  whole  to-day  is  not  merely  failing 
to  understand  or,  understanding,  courageously  to 
present  and  uphold  the  teaching  of  Jesus  in  this 
matter,  but  is  being  outstripped  by  those  who  have 
discovered  the  truth  of  part  of  His  teaching,  without 
always  acknowledging  Him  as  their  Master.  "Master, 
we  saw  one  casting  out  devils  in  Thy  name ;  and  we 
forbade  him,  because  he  followeth  not  with  us." 
And  Jesus  said  unto  him,  "Forbid  him  not :  for  he 
that  is  not  against  us  is  for  us."  x  Psycho-therapists, 
even  those  who  are  not  professing  Christians,  tend 
to  regard  the  presence  or  absence  of  religious  belief 
as  an  important  factor  in  their  patients ;  not  only  does 
religious  emotion  often  form  a  conspicuous  element 
in  the  complicated  states  which  they  attempt  to 
analyse,  but  real  belief  in  God,  when  it  exists  in  a 
patient,  can  be  used  as  effectively  as  the  patient's 
belief  in  his  doctor  or  medicine  or  system  of  treat- 
ment. From  the  Christian  point  of  view,  surely, 
there  is  much  more  in  faith  than  this  but,  generally 
speaking,  we  do  not  use  even  that  much. 

At  this  point  let  it  be  stated  again  that  while  the 
science  of  psycho-therapy  is  the  best  of  all  illustra- 
tions of  the  degree  to  which  the  Church  as  a  whole  is 
behindhand  in  the  application  of  psychology  to  its 
work  in  the  world,  it  is  only  an  illustration.  We  are 
1  Luke  ix.  49-50. 


42  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

not  primarily  concerned  with  the  relation  of  religious 
faith  to  the  practice  of  medicine  or  the  cure  of 
disease.  Our  contention  is  that  psychological  dis- 
covery as  a  whole  is,  in  a  less  ambitious  way,  at  the 
disposal  of  the  Christian  believer  with  average  in- 
telligence, who  will  take  the  trouble  to  learn  a  little 
more  than  common  sense  and  some  power  of  observa- 
tion already  provide  for  him. 

It  is  not  easy  to  summarize  shortly  what  can  be 
claimed  for  psychology  in  its  application  to  industry 
or  education  or  medicine.  This  is,  at  any  rate,  part 
of  the  claim:  "Most  people  live  below  their  maxi- 
mum in  every  respect ;  they  tire  when  they  need  not ; 
they  fail  when  they  might  succeed ;  they  accept  limi- 
tations which  do  not  or  need  not  really  exist  for 
them ;  closer  observation  of  themselves  and  of  others 
would  immensely  increase  their  powers  of  judgment, 
turning  intuition  into  wisdom,  guess-work  into  cer- 
tainty." It  cannot  be  the  object  of  this  book  to  do 
more  than  apply  to  Christian  morality  and  faith  in 
certain  respects  this  just  claim  and  the  method  of  its 
achievement.  The  most  fundamental  application 
rests  undoubtedly  in  what  may  be  called  "The  Law 
of  Suggestion,"  already  briefly  described.  Experts 
in  psychology  differ  as  to  details  in  the  working  of 
this  law,  but  not  seriously  enough  to  affect  our  in- 
vestigation of  it.  We  shall  consider  it  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  New  Nancy  School,  founded  at 


Psychology  in  the  World  43 

Nancy  in  the  year  1910  on  the  teaching  and  research 
work  ot  Emile  Coue.  For  the  most  part  I  do  not 
intend  to  argue  or  r>rove  his  conclusions;  they  are 
fairly  and  sanely  supported  in  "Suggestion  and 
Auto-Suggestion, "  the  work  of  his  chief  disciple  and 
exponent,  Charles  Baudouin.  Without  denying  that 
they  should  be  critically  investigated  we  may  accept 
them  as  working  theories;  our  inquiry  is  not  les- 
sened in  value  because  the  new  psychology,  like  any 
new  branch  of  knowledge,  is  developing  rapidly  year 
by  year.  Any  later  modifications  in  the  conclusions 
on  which  we  base  our  present  study  of  the  subject 
are  not  likely  to  invalidate  the  main  principles. 

"Suggestion"  is  to  be  distinguished  from  the  popu- 
lar conception  of  "Hypnotism."  It  is  not  a  matter 
of  the  exercise  of  A's  will-power  over  B  nor  of 
the  alleged  "hypnotic"  fascination  exercised  by  one 
person  over  another.  Such  phenomena  have  been 
misdescribed  and  exaggerated  and  do  not  concern 
us  here.  Nor  does  suggestion  mean  merely  hypnotic 
treatment.  There  are  three  accepted  classes  of  sug- 
gestion : 

(a)  Hypnotic  treatment.  The  subject  is  put  into 
a  hypnotic  state  by  deliberate  means. 

A  hypnotic  state  is  a  state  of  mental  relaxation 
in  which  the  sub-conscious  mind  is  specially  sus- 
ceptible to  "suggestion."  A  profound  hypnotic  state 
is  like  a  "trance"  or  deep  sleep,  but  the  words  are 


44  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

also  used  to  describe  a  condition  in  which  there 
is  no  loss  of  consciousness  but  merely  a  "light 
hypnosis." 

If  the  subject  will  submit  himself  to  treatment 
he  can  be  put  in  this  state  and  then  the  necessary 
suggestion  is  made  to  his  sub-conscious  mind.  He 
is  roused  again  to  his  normal  state,  and  the  sug- 
gestion, working  through  his  sub-conscious  mind, 
will  ultimately  affect  his  conscious  mind  or  be- 
haviour. This  is  one  form  of  hetero-suggestion 
and  it  belongs  to  the  practice  of  medicine.  There 
are  limits  to  the  suggestion  that  will  be  so  accepted, 
limits  not  of  amount  but  of  quality  and  character. 
The  suggestion,  for  instance,  that  the  subject  should 
perform  some  act  contrary  to  his  moral  sense  is 
not  likely  to  be  accepted  or  developed  by  the  sub- 
conscious mind.  Yet  to  submit  to  frequent  hypnotic 
treatment  from  the  same  person  results  in  a  very 
strong  belief  on  the  part  of  the  subject  in  the  powers 
and  control  of  the  operator,  combined  possibly  with 
love  or  fear  of  him.  This  in  itself  constitutes  a 
powerful  suggestion  in  the  mind  of  the  person  so 
treated  and  gives  to  the  operator  a  certain  control 
or,  at  any  rate,  personal  influence  over  the  subject. 
Obviously  this  influence  can  be  wisely  employed  and 
then  gradually  eliminated,  or  it  can  be  abused  by 
ignorant  or  evilly-disposed  people.  Hypnotic  treat- 
ment lies  in  the  province  of  the  skilled  psycho- 


Psychology  in  the  World  45 

therapist  and  should  for  the  most  part  remain  there. 

(&)  There  is  another  form  of  "hetero-sugges- 
tion,"  1  which  has  already  been  described.  It  is  the 
suggestions  made  to  us  by  the  habits,  examples,  opin- 
ions prevalent  in  our  environment  to  whose  in- 
fluence our  social  or  herd  instinct  makes  us  sus- 
ceptible; or  again  the  deliberate  suggestion,  scien- 
tifically applied  by  one  person  to  another  who  is 
not  actually  in  a  state  of  induced  hypnosis.  (As 
will  be  noticed  later,  it  is  not  easy  exactly  to  define 
hypnosis  or  to  draw  a  hard  and  fast  line  between 
a  "hypnotic  state"  and  "not  a  hypnotic  state  but 
something  bordering  on  it.") 

(c)  There  is  auto-suggestion.2  Until  compara- 
tively recent  times  this  has  received  less  attention 
than  that  given  to  hetero-suggestion  of  one  kind  or 
another.  The  new  psychology  lays  increasing  stress 
on  the  paramount  importance  of  the  suggestions  that 
we  make  to  ourselves  or  that  we  adopt.  Coue  goes 
so  far  as  to  include  practically  all  hetero-suggestion 
within  the  sphere  of  auto-suggestion ;  he  maintains, 
to  put  it  briefly,  that  hetero-suggestion  must  become 
auto-suggestion,  before  it  can  be  translated  into  ac- 
tion, and  that  this  second  phase — the  transforma- 
tion of  the  idea  into  action — is  the  essential  and 
characteristic  element  in  the  process  of  all  sugges- 

1  i.e.,  "suggestion"   conveyed  to  a  man  or  administered  to 
him  by  other  people. 
ai.e.,  the  "suggestion"  a  man  makes  to  himself. 


46  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

tion.  However  that  may  be,  it  is  auto-suggestion 
rather  than  hetero-suggestion  of  any  kind  with  which 
we  are  now  concerned  and  to  which  in  this  chapter 
and  the  next  I  refer  by  the  word  "suggestion"  alone. 
The  claims  for  the  effective  practical  power  of 
such  suggestion  are  beyond  dispute.  I  do  not  pro- 
pose to  establish  this  fact  by  quoting  detailed  proofs 
with  examples  from  books  on  the  subject.  It  is 
beyond  question.  Our  own  individual  experience 
would  prove  it  to  any  of  us  on  reflection.  Again 
and  again  I  have  done  a  difficult  thing  which,  hu- 
manly speaking,  depended  on  my  own  efforts,  be- 
cause, as  I  am  convinced,  I  set  out  with  the  cer- 
tainty that  I  could  do  it;  in  so  approaching  the 
task  I  was  suggesting  to  myself  that  it  "could  be 
done,"  "was  as  good  as  done."  Again  and  again 
I  have  failed  at  the  same  thing  through  no  con- 
scious slackening  of  effort  but  simply  because  I 
approached  it  despondently — "I  suppose  I  must 
tackle  this,  but  ..."  On  those  "buts"  hang 
my  failures  in  rows.  Nothing  will  convince  me  of 
any  other  explanation  of  my  experience  than  this: 
in  making  the  suggestion  to  myself  "I  can,"  I  set 
in  motion  the  wheels  of  a  machinery  whose  driving- 
power  helped  to  achieve  success;  the  idea  of  suc- 
cess was  transformed  into  successful  action.  When 
I  suggested  to  myself  at  the  outset  doubtful  success 
or  practically  certain  failure,  I  shut  the  doors  on 


Psychology  in  the  World  47 

power  at  my  disposal,  or  worse,  initiated  an  idea 
which  in  spite  of  my  efforts  translated  itself  into 
actual  failure.  Many  of  us  by  personal  experience 
have  come  to  realize  this ;  when  we  read  it  in  psycho- 
logical books  we  murmur  "Exactly  so.  I've  always 
thought  as  much."  But  there  is  more  to  learn.  This 
power  can  be  wielded  more  deliberately.  There  are 
certain  times  when  we  are  in  a  more  receptive  state 
for  such  suggestions  than  we  are  at  others.  Again, 
the  state  in  which  we  are  most  receptive  can  be  in- 
duced deliberately  by  ourselves;  we  can  select  the 
ideas  which  shall  be  introduced  or  suggested  for  our 
sub-conscious  mind  to  transform  into  fact.  We  can 
gain  greater  control.  We  can  discard  worthless 
habits  and  fashion  useful  ones.  We  can  develop 
capacities  which  we  did  not  formerly  believe  to  exist 
in  us.  We  can  unlock  reserves  of  power  hitherto 
unrealised. 


Chapter  III:   Faith  and  Sug- 
gestion 

We  have  now  cleared  the  ground  enough  to  en- 
able us  to  consider  psychology  in  relation  to  the 
Christian  way  of  life.  As  generally  preached  and 
presented,  this  consists  of  two  fundamental  parts 
— faith  in  God,  and  effort  to  perform  His  will. 
There  is,  or  there  should  be,  a  link  between  these 
two;  thus:  "I  try  because  God  is  with  me;  He 
has  promised  to  help  me  if  I  try.  My  faith  in  Him 
must  be,  indeed  will  be,  followed  by  efforts  to  serve 
Him;  my  efforts  to  serve  Him  will  only  succeed  in 
so  far  as  I  put  my  trust  in  Him." 

In  spite  of  this  connection  most  people  tend  to 
consider  the  two  parts  separately;  many  a  man  be- 
lieves in  God's  power  at  the  bottom  of  his  heart, 
but  he  does  not  consciously  apply  that  faith  to  his 
own  efforts  to  live  rightly.  Of  the  two  lessons 
that  have  been  drilled  into  the  professing  Christian 
—"Have  faith  in  God,"  and  "The  Christian  life  is 
a  fight" — it  is  the  second  that  has  made  the  deepest 
impression,  and  this  for  more  than  one  reason.  It 

is  not  that  the  first  has  been  preached  less  often 
48 


Faith  and  Suggestion  49 

or  less  sincerely,  it  is  rather  that  the  second  is  ap- 
parently more  practical ;  it  gets  home  easier.  To  be 
a  fighting  Christian,  to  struggle  on  for  Christ's 
sake  may  involve  great  sacrifice  and  hardship ;  prac- 
tical Christianity  may  demand  painful  control  of 
selfish  desires.  But  it  is  a  Gospel  of  movement; 
it  can  appeal  to  human  nature  through  the  social 
or  herd-instinct  in  man ;  it  appeals  to  man's  vitality ; 
all  life  is  a  struggle;  a  life  spent  for  Christ  in 
the  service  of  the  community  is  a  good  struggle, 
some  say,  the  best  of  all.  That  more  people  do  not 
respond  to  that  appeal  is  due  to  the  fact  that  to 
many  it  has  never  been  adequately  presented;  it  is 
regarded,  wrongly  enough,  as  almost  anti-social. 
Men  often  think  of  the  Christian  fight  as  a  fight  to 
save  their  own  souls.  Or,  if  they  do  not  think  this, 
at  any  rate,  the  Christian  appeal  has  never  been 
linked  on  to  their  social  instinct;  or  else  one  of 
the  other  two  primary  instincts  governs  them  more 
strongly.  Even  so,  it  can  be  fairly  maintained  that 
the  call  to  the  struggle  of  the  Christian  life  is 
easier  to  understand,  to  test,  to  obey,  than  the  call 
to  hold  the  Christian  faith. 

Faith  in  God  is  intangible;  it  seems  negative, 
quiescent;  it  implies  thought  rather  than  talking, 
patience  rather  than  action ;  it  is  Eastern  rather  than 
Western.  Men  know  so  little  about  God;  He  is 
unfathomable,  His  ways  past  finding  out.  Some- 


50  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

thing  at  least  of  such  an  attitude  is  apparent  in  many 
of  the  keenest  Christian  believers ;  for  Christ's  sake 
they  carry  the  world  on  their  shoulders — their 
shoulders,  not  His.  They  are  undoubtedly  upheld 
in  their  efforts  by  fundamental  faith  in  Him,  but 
they  do  not  deliberately  apply  it  in  detail  to  the 
work  they  do  for  Him  in  life.  When  things  go 
wrong  they  worry;  when  things  go  badly  wrong 
they  "fall  back"  upon  their  beliefs;  having  ex- 
hausted their  own  efforts  on  His  behalf,  and  failed, 
they  suddenly  remember  His  promises :  "Well,  after 
all  God  is  working  His  purposes  out ;  His  will  must 
be  done  all  right  in  the  end."  Thus  the  commonest 
way  in  which  men  use  faith  in  Christ  is  not  as  a 
power  that  shall  make  their  efforts  for  Him  suc- 
cessful, but  as  a  consolation  for  the  failure  of  those 
efforts.  With  some  such  a  consolation  may  become 
a  drug;  they  seem  to  succeed  so  little,  let  God  do  it. 
The  phrase,  "the  Christian's  life  is  a  fight,"  refers 
not  only  to  the  Christian's  fight  against  evil  in  the 
world  around  him  and  to  his  struggle  to  further  the 
Kingdom  of  God,  but  also  to  the  struggle  which 
must  take  place  within  himself,  if  he  is  to  achieve 
strength  of  character  and  nobility  of  personal  life. 
In  this  sphere  of  the  personal  life  the  dispropor- 
tion between  faith  and  effort  is  still  more  marked. 
Here,  most  of  all,  may  the  noise  of  Paul's  battle- 
cries  drown  Paul's  teaching  on  faith.  Men  agonise 


Faith  and  Suggestion  51 

to  conquer  bad  habits;  they  strain  and  struggle  to 
surmount  this  or  that  temptation;  they  plod  and 
stumble  doggedly  after  the  ideal.  And  what  of  faith 
and  the  promises  to  faith?  They  do  not  under- 
stand how  it  all  works.  Faith  is  invaluable  as  a 
general  background  to  life,  but  the  chief  use  to 
which  many  excellent  people  put  it  could  be  ex- 
pressed in  the  words,  "I  don't  seem  to  get  any 
better ;  but  I  mustn't  expect  to  see  results  or  depend 
on  them ;  I  must  have  faith  in  God." 

Even  such  an  attitude  towards  life  is  magnificent; 
it  is  the  faith  of  heroes;  it  is  the  faith,  very  largely, 
of  the  Christian  tradition  and  of  the  Christian 
Church.  It  is  not  the  faith  of  Jesus  Christ.  If 
you  doubt  this,  open  any  one  of  the  four  Gospels 
and  study  any  single  passage  in  which  the  teach- 
ing of  Jesus  about  faith  is  given.  The  faith  of 
Jesus  surmounts  temptation,  casts  out  devils  and 
overcomes  the  world.  The  Church  as  a  whole  and 
most  Christians  as  individuals  have  not  that  faith. 
Of  course  we  all  know  of,  and  know  personally, 
many  Christians  who  do  not  need  psychology  to 
convince  them  that  Jesus  was  right.  They  do  not 
fuss  or  worry;  they  never  quench  smoking  flax; 
they  never  complain;  they  always  expect  the  best 
of  everyone  and  everyone  always  expects  the  best 
of  them.  They  wield  an  influence  out  of  all  propor- 
tion to  their  brains,  their  education  and  even  their 


52  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

personal  attractiveness  in  other  ways.  They  have 
a  driving  force  of  character  that  is  neither  hard 
nor  masterful.  Five  minutes  with  such  a  man  is 
like  a  tonic,  even  though  he  only  talks  about  the 
weather  or  the  drains.  It  is  the  faith  of  Jesus  that 
makes  a  man  like  this ;  yet  even  among  the  sincerest 
and  most  devoted  Christians  of  to-day  it  is  very 
rarely  to  be  found. 

The  rank  and  file  of  us  may  as  well  admit  that 
we  are  not  like  that,  and  welcome  whatever  will 
help  us  to  approach  it,  recognising  all  true  knowl- 
edge as  of  God,  through  whatever  channel  it  comes. 
For  those  who  will  make  this  admission  there  re- 
mains the  possibility  of  applying  psychology  to  their 
faith;  only  thus  will  the  faith  of  most  of  us  ever 
work  wonders.  At  first  such  an  idea  may  seem  to 
rule  out  divine  power  altogether,  but  this  is  not  so. 
For  instance,  I  believe  in  the  accuracy  of  my  watch, 
at  least,  we  will  suppose  that  I  do ;  by  a  mechanical 
process  within  me  the  result  of  this  faith  is  that  I 
am  not  flustered  when  other  people  consult  their 
watches  and  tell  me  that  I  shall  be  late;  I  know 
better.  My  faith  in  the  machinery  of  my  watch  suc- 
ceeds through  the  machinery  of  my  mind  in  giving 
me  a  sense  of  repose  with  regard  to  certain  de- 
tails of  my  daily  life.  Again,  suppose  that  instead 
of  a  watch  of  my  own  I  rely  on  the  watch  of  a 
friend;  his  watch  is  just  as  good  a  time-keeper  as 


Faith  and  Suggestion  £3 

mine,  but  there  is  this  further  advantage  for  me 
that  the  friend  is,  always  with  me  and  that  he 
guarantees,  with  or  without  the  help  of  the  watch, 
to  keep  me  up  to  time.  Not  only  am  I  more  con- 
fident now  because  I  have  a  friend  as  well  as  a  watch 
to  keep  me  right,  but  if  ever  the  watch  will  not 
work  or  goes  wrong,  the  friend  helps  me  himself. 
No  human  analogy  of  God's  dealings  with  man  is 
exact  and  complete,  this,  perhaps,  less  than  many, 
but  it  fairly  illustrates  the  point  at  issue.  God 
works  through  the  laws  of  the  mind,  as  He  works 
through  the  other  laws  of  nature  ordained  by  Him, 
but  He  is  not  Himself  bound  by  them.  Let  me 
trust  in  psychology  as  I  trust  in  a  watch  of  tested 
accuracy;  let  me  trust  also  in  a  Friend  who  makes 
no  mistakes,  who  can  and  does  help  me  through 
machinery,  which  I  can  discover,  or  in  other  ways. 
But  God  has  given  us  machinery  which  can  be 
used  intelligently,  and  use  it  we  should  to  the  full. 
The  faith  of  many  people  is  slovenly;  they  neglect 
to  invoke  the  aid  of  their  intelligence  and  invoke 
divine  power  instead.  If  not  useless,  it  is  at  any 
rate  irreverent  for  me  to  pray  over-night  for  a 
lucky  set  of  questions  in  an  examination  on  the 
morrow,  or  for  divinely  revealed  information  as 
to  the  names  and  dates  of  the  kings  of  Israel  and 
Judah,  if  I  have  through  laziness  failed  to  acquire 
the  necessary  facts  by  study. 


54  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

Perhaps  we  should  dwell  for  a  moment  on  the 
statement  just  made  that  God  works  through  "nat- 
ural" laws — laws,  if  not  known  at  any  rate  wholly 
or  in  part  discoverable.  Many  recorded  occurrences 
in  the  past  that  once  appeared  to  be  contrary  to  the 
laws  of  nature,  are  now  seen  to  have  been  only  "con- 
trary to  the  laws  of  nature  as  then  known."  By 
observation  and  inquiry  we  can  often  trace  how 
prayers  have  been  answered,  i.e.,  through  a  chain  of 
apparently  normal  and  natural  occurrences.  But 
let  us  be  clear  that  this  attitude  towards  the  sub- 
ject does  not  rule  out  the  reality  of  Divine  power. 
That  would  be  one  extreme ;  the  other  extreme,  also 
to  be  avoided,  is  to  regard  every  response  to  faithful 
prayer  as  an  abnormal  intervention  of  divine  provi- 
dence. The  experience  of  faith  denies  the  first 
assumption;  the  facts  of  life  give  the  lie  to  the 
second. 

We  will  now  return  to  the  relation  of  faith  to 
effort  in  the  Christian  life,  psychologically  consid- 
ered. In  the  average  man  most  "suggestions"  that 
he  makes  to  himself  are  spontaneous  rather  than 
deliberate  or  reflective.  My  attention  is  suddenly 
attracted;  I  notice  something  and  spontaneously 
make  a  suggestion  to  myself.  My  attention,  as  a 
boy,  is  drawn  to  the  fact  that  on  a  particular  morn- 
ing I  have  awakened  at  5.30  a.m.  contrary  to  my 
usual  habits,  because  I  am  starting  on  a  country 


Faith  and  Suggestion  55 

outing  at  6  a.m.  It  follows  spontaneously  that  I 
make  the  suggestion  to  myself,  "I  can  wake  myself 
at  whatever  hour  I  like  without  being  called." 
Such  a  suggestion,  if  made,  may  perhaps  work  out 
into  what  eventually  becomes  a  habit,  a  habit  whose 
efficacy  is  based  on  my  belief  in  it.  Or  I  enter 
an  exhibition  of  pictures  and  my  attention  is  drawn 
by  a  crowd  of  people  in  one  corner.  Spontaneously 
I  make  the  suggestion  to  myself,  "That's  the  im- 
portant picture  in  this  room ;  it's  very  good."  The 
instinct  of  imitation  carries  me  along.  Away  goes 
my  independence  of  judgment,  and  thus,  as  Bou- 
douin  points  out,  do  people  become  conventional  in 
their  opinions.  By  the  time  I  reach  the  picture 
the  suggestion  is  already  translating  itself  into  ac- 
tion in  my  mind ;  I  stand  ten  minutes  in  front  of  it 
and  when  I  move  on,  I  think  I  know  why  it  is  a 
good  picture;  I  have  sought  and  found  reasons  for 
an  opinion  which  originally  I  adopted  as  one  of 
the  herd  for  no  adequate  reason.  My  thinking  has 
not  been  consciously  dishonest,  but,  intellectually  it 
is  altogether  false  and  bears  no  relation  to  real  merit 
or  lack  of  it  in  that  particular  picture.  As  I  leave 
the  gallery  I  say  to  a  friend,  "You  must  look  at 
'Flame-Morning,'  by  Pentarg  in  the  first  room; 
wonderful  colouring,  etc.,  etc."  Thus  is  formed  on 
most  subjects  that  hope  and  despair  of  all  thought- 
ful people — public  opinion. 


56  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

These  illustrations  suffice  to  explain  the  general 
nature  of  spontaneous  suggestion.  The  next  ex- 
ample we  shall  take  is  connected  more  obviously 
with  the  emotions,  and  we  have  noticed  already  the 
great  force  inherent  in  any  suggestion  connected 
directly  or  closely  with  the  emotions.  Imagine 
that  you  are  a  public  speaker  and  generally  suffer 
a  little  but  not  excessively  from  stage- fright.  One 
evening  on  a  crowded  platform  five  minutes  before 
you  rise  to  speak,  your  attention  is  suddenly  caught 
by  the  fact  that  you  will  have  to  stand  near  the 
edge  of  the  platform  without  any  table  or  rail  in 
front  of  you,  on  which  you  can  occasionally  rest 
your  hands;  spontaneously  the  suggestion  enters 
your  mind,  "I  shall  never  do  myself  justice  like 
this;  I  shall  be  nervy  all  through."  That  is  enough, 
and  nervy  you  will  be;  the  fear  of  ever  having  to 
speak  under  those  conditions  again  will  dog  a  man 
through  life,  and  as  a  result  he  will  always  be  more 
nervous  when  he  encounters  them.  How  a  child 
should  be  handled  from  its  earliest  years  so  that 
it  may  use  spontaneous  suggestion  to  the  advantage 
of  its  best  development,  and  how  such  education 
should  be  linked  with  the  child's  religious  faith,  is 
not  within  our  present  scope.  We  are  concerned 
rather  with  the  remedy  for  our  own  condition  of  im- 
potence and  of  slavery  to  wrong  suggestions. 

The  remedy  should  be  fairly  obvious.     Any  man 


Faith  and  Suggestion  57 

who  habitually  brings  his  religious  faith  right  into 
his  daily  life,  and  is  acutely  conscious  of  the  pres- 
ence of  Christ  with  him  in  life  is  not  likely  to  start 
many  harmful  suggestions.  He  reads  the  Gospels 
not  as  a  duty  or  simply  for  critical  study,  but  as 
the  vehicle  of  ideas  with  which  he  would  impreg- 
nate his  mind.  His  thoughts  about  God,  his  faith 
in  Him,  are  not  detached,  vague,  remote;  they  are 
dominant.  He  may  be  nervous  when  he  speaks  in 
public ;  he  finds  it  puts  a  finer  edge  on  him ;  it  does 
not  worry  him,  because  God  will  use  him.  God  will 
use  him  even  if  there  be  no  table  behind  which  to 
take  refuge.  When  his  attention  is  aroused  to  the 
fact  that  no  table  or  rail  is  there,  the  spontaneous 
suggestion  that  he  makes  to  himself  is  not  "Can't" 
but  "Can."  If  he  had  the  choice  he  would  prefer 
the  table,  but  "It  doesn't  really  matter."  Nor  does 
it.  The  suggestion  thus  made  affects  his  conduct  not 
only  on  that  night,  but  throughout  his  life;  he  finds 
after  that  first  night  that  "Can"  was  right;  this  dis- 
covery further  strengthens  the  suggestion  and  in 
future  he  is  indifferent  to  the  presence  or  absence 
of  rail  or  table.  The  chief  point  to  note  here  is  the 
fact  that  he  makes  practically  no  conscious  effort. 
The  less  faithful  Christian  would  make  a  gallant 
struggle  to  throw  off  the  feeling  of  paralysis,  would 
speak  courageously  in  spite  of  his  difficulty  and 
would  suffer  accordingly.  What  he  attempts  by 


58  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

what  we  may  call  Christian  effort  the  man  of  faith 
achieves  through  faith. 

At  the  risk  of  repetition  it  is  well  here  to  meet 
two  objections  from  opposite  extremes.  Someone 
will  complain,  "My  faith  in  God  does  not  work  like 
that;  I  haven't  got  the  necessary  faith  to  do  that 
kind  of  thing."  The  answer  is,  "The  thing  works 
really  through  a  proved  law  of  the  mind  which  is 
at  the  disposal  of  anyone.  The  actual  process  by 
which  the  idea  is  transformed  into  action  does  not 
depend  on  your  faith  in  God;  it  is  done  for  you. 
It  is  only  the  idea,  the  suggestion,  required  to  set 
the  machinery  in  motion,  which  springs  from  trust 
in  God.  Have  you  not  sufficient  trust  in  Him  to 
believe  that  the  Holy  Spirit  will  help  you  to  start 
the  right  idea  instead  of  the  wrong  one?"  But  an- 
other will  say,  "The  whole  thing  is  nothing  more 
than  auto-suggestion  and  machinery  of  mind;  a 
mascot  would  serve  the  purpose  as  well."  This  point 
I  will  not  here  argue,  and  I  cannot  prove  it,  any 
more  than  I  can  convince  any  unbeliever  of  the 
existence  of  God  by  so-called  proofs.  To  the  be- 
liever (and  him  alone  we  are  considering)  I  say: 
"Given  the  same  machinery  in  both  cases,  the  value 
of  your  mascot  in  starting  the  right  idea  lies  simply 
in  your  own  belief  in  the  mascot.  That  is  good  for 
the  purpose;  my  faith  is  better.  I  believe  in  the 
Holy  Spirit;  the  Holy  Spirit  is  a  power  outside 


Faith  and  Suggestion  59 

myself  which  actually  gives  me  the  right  idea." 
There  is  all  the  difference  between  spontaneous  sug- 
gestion (however  well  governed  by  faith  in  a  mas- 
cot) and  a  suggestion  which  is  not  simply  sponta- 
neous in  me  but  comes  into  my  heart  and  mind  from 
God  Himself. 

In  many  things  for  many  of  us  the  matter  will 
not  be  so  simple.  A  spontaneous  suggestion  may 
seem  to  result  from  the  sudden  arousing  of  atten- 
tion, but  it  may  emerge  in  the  form  in  which  it  does 
emerge  as  a  result  of  many  previous  suggestions, 
whereby  our  conduct  is  already  bound.  We  imagined 
the  probable  conduct  of  a  nervous  speaker  upon  the 
first  occasion  on  which  he  found  himself  without 
a  table  in  front  of  him.  We  may  admit  that  the 
advice  just  given  in  regard  to  similar  circumstances, 
of  whatever  nature,  in  our  own  lives  might  have 
proved  most  valuable,  if  given  in  advance.  But 
our  past  lack  of  faith,  our  ignorance  of  the  power 
of  suggestion,  have  fastened  certain  ways  of  think- 
ing and  acting  upon  us  for  good.  That  is  not  quite 
true,  but  for  the  present  we  shall  not  deal  with 
extreme  cases  but  with  the  every-day  human  nature 
of  the  ordinary  man,  who  tries  hard  to  improve 
and  thinks  he  does  not  or  cannot ;  and  it  must  be 
instantly  conceded  that,  bound  as  he  is  by  bad  sug- 
gestion and  weak  faith,  the  mere  saying  "I  can" 


60  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

will  not  in  certain  respects  help  him  to  gain  free- 
dom and  power. 

The  first  advice  for  such  a  person  is  that  he  should 
slacken  his  efforts  to  improve.  Such  an  apparently 
outrageous  proposal  demands  qualification.  We  have 
been  dividing  and  shall  continue  to  divide  effort 
or  struggle  with  ourselves  from  effort  and  struggle 
with  the  world  around  us.  The  Christian  life  is 
and  must  always  be  a  fight  against  evil  in  the  world ; 
the  Christian  must  pit  himself  against  the  cynic, 
the  crude  materialist,  the  selfish  schemer,  and  if  he 
fail,  must  redouble  his  efforts;  all  the  grit  and  de- 
termination, the  trained  will-power,  which  we  are 
always  being  exhorted  to  acquire,  is  needed;  no 
amount  of  suggestion  based  on  faith  in  God  will 
rid  us  of  this  necessity.  In  that  sense  the  Christian 
life  will  always  be  a  fight.  But,  as  we  have  seen, 
any  person  trying  so  to  live  effectively  for  Christ 
in  the  world  has  another  struggle,  an  inward  one. 
The  two  are,  of  course,  intimately  connected  in 
practice:  if  my  personal  life  is  wholly  unsatisfac- 
tory, my  efforts  for  Christ  in  the  world  will  be  so 
much  the  less  valuable.  The  internal  struggle  is 
only  here  regarded  as  a  thing  apart  because  it  is  in 
this  domain  that  it  is  of  first  importance  to  remove 
the  emphasis  from  effort  and  lay  it  on  faith.  Why  ? 
How  can  a  boy  stop  biting  his  nails  by  ceasing  to 
fight  against  the  habit?  When  a  man  is  struggling 


Faith  and  Suggestion  61 

hard  against  habits  of  impurity  in  thought  or  act, 
can  it  ever  be  right  that  he  should  stop  trying? 

Psychologically,  the  law  of  the  mind  on  which 
such  advice  would  be  based,  and  by  which  such 
questions  would  be  answered,  is  defined  by  Coue  as 
the  law  of  "reversed  effort."  In  his  own  words, 
"When  the  will  and  the  imagination  are  at  war, 
the  imagination  invariably  gains  the  day."  Now 
suggestion  is  in  the  realm  of  the  imagination,  effort 
in  the  realm  of  the  will.  This  means,  therefore, 
that  when  a  powerful  suggestion,  working  uncon- 
sciously, is  opposed  by  the  deliberate,  conscious 
efforts  of  the  will,  the  power  of  the  suggestion 
will  often  be  greater  than  the  power  of  the  will. 
Whether  or  not  the  law  of  reversed  effort  is  a  com- 
monplace, accepted  by  the  majority  of  psychologists, 
I  do  not  know.  I  accept  it  as  generally  true  be- 
cause it  exactly  fits  my  own  personal  experience 
and  that  of  many  others,  who  are  perhaps  often  un- 
conscious of  its  power  when  they  say,  "And  the 
harder  I  try,  the  worse  I  seem  to  get."  This  is 
how  it  acts.  For  example,  you  are  trying  to 
strengthen  your  character  and  to  make  yourself  a 
better  instrument  for  God's  purposes  in  the  world. 
You  are  up  against  some  long-standing  habit  of  your 
own,  sloth,  irritability,  impurity  or  any  one  of  a 
host  of  others,  varying  in  moral  importance.  Its 
chains  are  on  you  and  you  know  it;  that  is  why 


62  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

you  struggle  to  be  free.  But  you  have  always 
failed  in  the  past  and  the  memory  of  past  falls,  of 
unsuccessful  resolutions,  forms  the  strongest  pos- 
sible suggestion  to  you  that  you  cannot  rid  yourself 
of  this  thing;  each  fresh  effort  by  its  very  intensity 
strengthens  the  hold  of  this  suggestion  upon  you, 
so  that  you  build  higher  and  higher  the  barricade 
you  seek  to  pass.  Nine  times  out  of  ten  will  your 
imagination  defeat  your  will.  You  know  it  your- 
self; before  now  you  have  thought,  "I  wonder  if 
I  worry  too  much  about  it;  perhaps  if  I  didn't  try 
so  hard  I  might  do  better."  But  generally  that  does 
not  work,  because  your  surrender  of  the  struggle 
includes  a  denial  of  any  living  faith  in  God's  power 
to  rescue  you.  Your  many  failures  have  used  up 
your  faith;  though  throughout  your  struggles  you 
clung  to  God,  you  did  not  cling  to  Him  as  to  One 
able  to  save  to  the  uttermost ;  the  struggle  remained 
on  your  shoulders,  and  friends  consoled  you  with 
the  reminder  that  the  Christian  life  was  always  a 
fight.  But  in  the  heart  and  mind  of  man  the  Chris- 
tian life  should  be  less  a  fight  than  a  faith.  And 
so  it  has  been  with  you  when  you  have  succeeded 
in  some  internal  struggle  by  the  effort  of  your  will 
(as  you  would  think)  ;  such  effort  and  capacity 
for  effort  must  remain,  but  on  the  occasions  when 
you  succeeded,  will  and  imagination  were  not  really 
at  variance;  you  told  yourself  beforehand  that  you 


Faith  and  Suggestion  63 

could  do  it,  that  it  was  absurd  that  you  should  con- 
tinue failing ;  some  such  faith  fired  your  imagination 
and  the  right  suggestion  was  initiated.  The  efforts 
of  your  will  strengthened  that  suggestion  and  helped 
to  transform  it  into  accomplishment ;  the  two  reacted 
on  each  other  favourably,  and  combined  to  produce 
success.^ 

But  where  the  sense  of  past  failure  is  too  strong 
for  this  to  be  possible,  how  can  the  right  suggestion 
be  introduced?  To  make  myself  reiterate  "I  can 
do  it"  is  not  much  use;  that  is  merely  another  form 
of  screwing  myself  up  to  the  necessary  pitch  and 
setting  my  teeth;  in  itself  it  constitutes  an  effort 
and  may  have  the  reverse  effect  to  that  which  I 
desire.  Now,  two  indications  have  already  been 
given  of  the  force  which  an  idea  possesses,  when 
suggested  without  any  conscious  effort:  (i)  spon- 
taneous suggestion,  already  considered  in  this  chap- 
ter, is  entirely  effortless.  The  idea  just  slips  into 
the  mind  because  the  attention  has  been  suddenly 
and  involuntarily  concentrated;  (2)  we  have  noted 

1  It  is  to  be  noted  that  I  am  not  recommending  a  substitution 
of  "faith"  for  "will."  Baudouin  (see  p.  10  of  "Suggestion  and 
Autosuggestion")  seems  to  go  so  far  as  to  declare  such  a  sub- 
stitution necessary.  If  this  is  actually  what  he  means  we 
cannot  follow  him  all  the  way.  Under  the  circumstances  I 
have  been  here  describing  the  main  emphasis  must  be  removed 
from  "effort"  and  put  on  "faith."  The  desire  to  improve  must 
of  course  remain,  and  the  readiness  to  employ  the  efforts  of 
the  will  when  next  called  upon;  but  the  condition  of  mind 
must  cease  to  be  one  of  struggle  and  must  become  one  of 
assurance. 


64  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

that  when  a  state  of  hypnosis  has  been  induced,  an 
idea  can  be  easily  introduced  which  will  work  most 
powerfully  in  the  sub-conscious  mind.  A  hypnotic 
state  is  obviously  one  in  which  the  patient  has  given 
up  all  effort  of  any  kind. 

Now  spontaneous  suggestion  is,  from  the  nature 
of  the  circumstances  imposed  on  us,  impossible, 
and  hypnotic  treatment  is  ruled  out  as  being  no  part 
of  a  normal  mental  and  moral  training.  We  must, 
therefore,  aim  at  some  method  whereby  the  idea 
we  wish  to  develop  may  be  introduced  into  the  mind 
with  the  minimum  of  conscious  effort.  This  method 
is  termed  by  Coue  "reflective  suggestion,"  and  it 
coincides  in  a  remarkable  degree  with  the  practice 
of  devout  worshippers  of  God  throughout  the  ages, 
the  practice  known  as  meditation.  First,  quiet  and 
freedom  from  distraction  and  interruption  must  be 
secured;  the  body  must  be  comfortably  at  rest  as 
well  as  the  mind,  which  must  relax  and  make  no 
effort  of  any  kind.  Progress  towards  the  state  de- 
sired can  be  assisted  by  mechanical  means;  the  eye 
may  be  fixed  on  some  bright  object  at  rest  or  mov- 
ing rhythmically ;  or  the  attention  of  the  ear  may  be 
engaged  by  some  regular  sound  such  as  the  tick 
of  a  clock  in  the  silence.  The  dreamy  state,  which 
results,  is  such  as  most  of  us  have  experienced.  All 
kin3s  of  thoughts  pass  in  succession  through  the 
mind  in  this  semi-hypnotic  condition ;  we  have  found 


Faith  and  Suggestion  65 

ourselves  without  any  effort  building  up  some  "day- 
dream"; the  last  thing  we  ever  thought  was  that 
by  so  "day-dreaming,"  by  letting  our  imagination 
dreamily  play  over  some  future  possibility,  we  were 
allowing  an  idea  to  enter  the  sub-conscious  mind  at 
a  time  when  it  was  abnormally  sensitive  to  sug- 
gestion ;  yet  so  it  was,  and  years  later  without  ever 
deliberately  aiming  at  it,  we  have  step  by  step 
reached  the  position  then  pictured  in  our  imagina- 
tion. The  idea  has  transformed  itself  into  action.^ 
Such,  roughly  speaking,  is  the  state  at  which  we  are 
now  aiming,  though  we  must  stop  short  of  the 
point  where  we  may  be  in  actual  danger  of  falling 
into  a  doze.  Our  purpose  when  in  this  state  will 
be  to  introduce  into  the  mind  with  the  least  possible 
effort  the  necessary  idea  in  a  form  of  words  and 

1 1  know  in  my  own  life  at  least  one  such  result,  which  I 
can  only  explain  on  this  assumption.  I  had  seemed  to  myself, 
without  any  particular  intention,  to  say  and  do  just  the  very 
things  which  might  have  been  deliberately  intended  to  produce 
a  certain  result,  and  did  actually  produce  it.  I  had  not  meant 
it;  I  had  never  thought  of  aiming  at  that  result;  it  was  too 
uncanny  and  too  complete  to  be  explained  to  my  own  satis- 
faction either  by  luck  or  by  coincidence.  I  traced  it  back 
without  any  sort  of  doubt  to  one  or  two  occasions  at  intervals 
of  a  year  or  two,  when  I  had  been  in  the  habit  of  dwelling 
idly  on  the  idea  on  the  lines  of  "Fancy  if!"  etc.  "How  nice 
it  would  be !"  etc.,  day-dreams  indulged  in  as  a  form  of  idling 
and  dismissed  as  such  from  my  conscious  thought  an  hour 
later.  Yet  my  sub-conscious  mind  saw  to  it  that  I  got  what  I 
wanted.  Luck  and  coincidence  there  may  have  been,  but 
nothing  will  convince  me  that  my  explanation  of  the  chief 
factor  is  not  right.  I  came  to  my  conclusion  about  this  and 
certain  other  things  rather  like  it  a  considerable  time  before 
I  ever  read  any  book  on  psychological  processes. 


66  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

to  hold  it  there;  we  may,  for  instance,  repeat  the 
formula,  to  the  rhythm  of  a  clock  or  of  our  own 
breathing.  We  should  make  no  effort  of  will  to- 
wards the  achievement  of  the  formula  in  action, 
but  simply  let  the  mind  dwell  on  it  as  a  statement 
or  as  a  picture. 

Twice  daily  most  of  us  are  in  a  condition  entirely 
suitable  for  the  initiation  of  a  suggestion  without 
any  artificial  preparation — during  the  time  when  we 
first  wake  in  the  morning  but  are  not  completely 
roused,  and  last  thing  at  night  before  actually  drop- 
ping off  to  sleep.  The  artificial  state  is  obviously 
easier  to  attain  for  people  living  in  the  country, 
where  the  noise  of  a  stream,  waterfall,  bees,  etc., 
may  be  sought  as  a  natural  aid  to  the  relaxation  of 
mind  and  body.  But  many  people  in  towns  could 
find  the  time  and  opportunity  at  least  once  daily 
to  induce  this  state  in  themselves,  using  a  period 
usually  devoted  to  rereading  the  newspaper  or  to 
doing  nothing  in  particular.  The  time  given  to  the 
experiment  should  not  exceed  fifteen  or  twenty 
minutes  in  length ;  such  a  rule  is  a  necessary  precau- 
tion against  the  deterioration  of  the  practice  into 
mere  mooning,  idling  or  sleeping.  After  some 
experience  anyone  will  find  the  right  state  easy  to 
acquire  within  a  few  minutes.  The  form  of  words 
should  be  in  positive  rather  than  negative  terms: 
e.g.,  not  "I  shall  not  be  so  bad-tempered  to-day," 


Faith  and  Suggestion  67 

but  "I  am  really  good-tempered"  or  "My  temper  is 
daily  improving."  Further,  as  suggestions,  so  em- 
ployed, is  powerful  to  remedy  not  only  the  ills 
we  know,  but  those  we  know  not,  the  formula 
should  be  as  comprehensive  as  possible;  e.g.  not 
simply,  "My  temper  is  daily  improving,"  but  rather, 
"I  am  improving  daily  in  every  way."  The  method 
is  elaborated  in  greater  detail  in  Baudouin's  book, 
which  also  records  the  literally  miraculous  successes 
obtained  step  by  step  by  people  who  under  the  in- 
struction of  Coue  or  others  have  learnt  the  method. 
He  maintains  that  it  can  be  learnt  by  anyone  who 
will  take  the  trouble  to  read  about  it,  and  that  was 
in  part  the  object  of  his  own  book.  This  view  I 
neither  accept  nor  recommend,  as  will  be  seen  later. 
Without  stopping  at  the  moment  to  consider  ob- 
jections or  the  resemblances  or  differences  in  detail 
between  the  practice  of  religious  meditation  and  that 
of  reflective  auto-suggestion,  let  us  make  an  attempt 
to  combine  the  two  and  apply  science  to  religion  in 
this  respect.  The  method  would  be  described  as  a 
daily  Act  of  Faith,  influencing  no  doubt  our  whole 
approach  to  prayer  itself,  but  equally  not  to  be  con- 
fused with  prayer  or  taken  as  a  substitute  for  prayer 
or  for  ordinary  religious  meditation.  How  then 
would  anyone  engage  in  such  an  Act  of  Faith  ?  He 
would  secure  the  material  conditions  already  de- 
scribed and  would  read,  perhaps  more  than  once, 


68  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

some  passage  in  the  New  Testament  describing  the 
power  of  faith  or  some  cure  of  our  Lord's.  He 
would  so  be  helped  to  dwell  in  his  mind  on  the  power 
of  God  promised  without  any  question  to  those  who 
believe.  While  so  meditating  he  would  make,  or 
just  think,  in  God's  presence  the  petition  that  he 
might  choose  rightly  the  suggestion  to  make — 
"Grant  me  a  right  judgment."  The  book  is  by  now 
laid  down,  the  real  relaxation  of  mind  and  body 
has  begun;  the  eye  may  be  fixed  on  a  "Head  of 
Christ"  or  Cross  or  Crucifix,  placed  very  near,  so 
as  to  maintain  the  sense  of  Christ's  presence  and 
tender  love  and  power ;  the  eyes  will  soon  close  and 
the  man  would  no  longer  attempt  to  think  of  what 
he  had  been  reading,  or  make  any  effort  to  think 
about  God,  but  would  (as  far  as  possible  without 
effort)  simply  introduce  into  his  mind  the  chosen 
phrase  or  phrases :  "The  humility  of  Jesus  is  mine," 
"The  purity  of  Jesus  grows  stronger  in  me  daily," 
and  would  dwell  on  them  again  and  again.  The 
inclusive  phrase  might  well  be,  "I  can  do  all  things 
through  Christ." 

It  cannot  be  too  often  emphasized  that  these  are 
not  to  be  regarded  as  acts  of  resolution,  such  as  are 
recommended  at  the  conclusion  of  ordinary  religious 
meditation;  they  are  not  determined  resolutions 
made  by  the  man ;  they  are  simply  statements,  sug- 
gestions (that  is,  ideas),  slipped  into  the  sub-con- 


Faith  and  Suggestion  69 

scious  mind  in  its  most  sensitive  state.  Why  any 
thought  of  effort  or  of  the  exercise  of  will-power 
must  be  eliminated  has  already  been  explained.1 
In  such  an  act  of  faith  we  can  go  further  than 
in  the  practice  of  reflective  suggestion ;  while  choos- 
ing by  prayer  the  best  and  most  suitable  idea  to  in- 
troduce, we  believe  that  the  Holy  Spirit  Himself 
may  in  our  period  of  relaxation  provide  the  par- 
ticular suggestion  we  most  need  for  our  repetition, 
though  not  perhaps  the  one  we  have  chosen.  Our 
attitude  will  therefore  be  expressed  in  the  words 
"Speak,  Lord,  for  Thy  servant  heareth."  But  at 
the  time  we  must  not  spare  thought  on  this,  or 
search  for  it.  Relaxation  must  be  complete.  In- 
spiration may  come  to  a  man  in  this  way.  but  if 
it  does  not  come  he  has  an  idea  ready  for  sug- 
gestion. 

An  Act  of  Faith,  repeated  as  a  regular  habit,  will 
not  only  affect  a  person  in  certain  particular  direc- 
tions. The  practice  would  also  train  anyone  in  men- 
tal concentration;  this  may  sound  curious  when  so 
much  emphasis  has  just  been  laid  on  complete  re- 
laxation, but  most  people's  inability  to  concentrate 
their  attention  on  anything  is  partly  due  to  their 
inability  to  free  the  mind  from  other  distracting 
thoughts.  We  all  envy  the  man  who  can  easily  and 
completely  turn  from  such  distractions  and  apply 
'p.  40. 


yo  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

himself  wholly  to  the  matter  in  hand.  More  than 
this — the  practice  would  inevitably  make  God  more 
and  more  accessible  at  other  times,  on  a  bus-top 
in  the  roar  of  traffic  or  in  a  crowd  amongst  many 
other  voices.  The  sense  of  Christ's  presence  would 
come  more  and  more  easily  in  ordinary  daily  life. 

We  may  claim  for  such  an  Act  of  Faith  not  only 
the  experience  of  modern  Psycho-Therapeutic  Clin- 
ics, but  the  testimony  of  mystics  and  saints  of  many 
ages  and  religions.  Many  Christian  believers  have 
much  to  learn  from  both  the  Yogi  of  Hindustan  and 
the  French  savant;  the  help  of  neither  was  needed 
by  Brother  Lawrence.  The  method  may  in  all  seri- 
ousness be  regarded  as  the  practice  of  communion 
with  God  and  the  channel  for  the  exercise  of  His 
resistless  power  in  human  nature.  So  strengthened 
we  might  go  back  to  the  fighting  line  to  use  more 
confidently  our  efforts  and  will-power  in  the  great 
struggle,  certain  that  by  faith  we  had  acquired  a 
strength  that  cannot  fail.  Yet  this  method  cannot 
be  recommended  to  all  and  sundry. 

It  is  not  everyone  who  is  fit,  even  if  willing,  to 
practise  such  reflective  suggestion  with  safety.  The 
recommendation  cannot  be  adopted  impulsively  as  a 
short  cut  by  anyone  casually  reading  about  it.  De- 
liberately to  relax  the  mind's  attention,  to  leave  its 
doors  open,  to  loosen  control  of  thought  and  to  drift 
into  day-dreams  is  dangerous.  Evil  thoughts  may 


Faith  and  Suggestion  71 

enter  the  mind  in  the  preliminary  stage  of  relaxa- 
tion. They  may  easily  disturb  or  distract  the  man 
who  has  undertaken  the  experiment  lightly  and  with- 
out considering  its  full  implications,  and  he  may 
find  his  soul  wallowing  in  the  mire  instead  of  rising 
on  wings.  We  must  consider  certain  fundamentals 
before  we  can  safely  embark  on  the  practice  of  re- 
flective suggestion  artificially  induced.  Yet  we  may 
practise  it  naturally  on  falling  to  sleep  at  night  and 
on  first  waking.  Amongst  the  many  pious  recom- 
mendations made  to  us  in  childhood  or  since,  which 
are  habitually  disregarded,  is  that  of  letting  our  first 
daily  thought  be  of  God  and  of  commending  our- 
selves again  to  His  care  as  we  fall  asleep.  Make 
such  advice  a  little  more  definite  and  it  has  a  psy- 
chological as  well  as  a  devout  significance.  Let  the 
first  and  last  thought  of  the  day  be  an  Act  of  Faith ; 
let  the  mind  be  filled  with  the  thought  of  God's 
power,  and  of  your  power  through  Him  to  do  His 
will;  apply  such  thought,  with  as  little  effort  as 
possible,  to  the  particular  sphere  of  your  life  in 
which  you  feel  you  need  the  application  of  power. 

But  to  attain  real  communion  with  God  and  living 
contact  with  His  power  in  this  way  is  not  so  easy  as 
may  appear  from  its  description.  Each  must  first 
ask  himself  the  question — "Do  I  really  want  God 
in  my  life  absolutely?  Am  I  whole-hearted  in  my 
willingness  to  receive  Him,  or  am  I  merely  trying 


72  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

to  use  Him  for  the  time  being?"  or  again,  "Am 
I  in  a  fit  state  for  Him  to  come  to  me?  What  if 
unacknowledged  and  unrepented  sin  blocks  the  chan- 
nel of  His  approach  ?  Am  I  trying  to  achieve  power 
in  life  by  a  short  cut?"  These  questions  will  now 
be  considered,  and  until  for  each  person  they  have 
been  satisfactorily  answered  no  practice  of  reflective 
auto-suggestion  artificially  stimulated  as  an  Act  of 
Faith  can  be  profitably  or  even  safely  undertaken. 
Even  then  it  would  be  best  if  the  practice  were 
adopted  only  under  the  guidance  and  direction  of 
another  person  qualified  by  age  or  experience  to 
give  advice.. 


Chapter  IV:  The  Psychology 
of  Sin 

No  practical  advantage  for  the  purposes  of  our 
inquiry  will  accrue  from  a  detailed  examination  of 
the  theories  of  Freud  and  Jung  and  their  disciples. 
"The  New  Psychology"  *  can  be  studied  sanely  in 
the  book  of  that  title  by  A.  G.  Tansley.  There  are 
many  points  in  the  new  psychology  itself  about 
which  there  are  differences  of  opinion  among  ex- 
perts; there  is  also  a  tendency  both  among  experts 
and  the  general  public,  as  with  any  new  discovery 
in  science,  to  explain  everything  by  it,  to  apply  it 
to  everything,  and  to  make  of  it  a  philosophic  unity, 
where  no  such  unity  has  been  proved  or  is  likely. 
The  chief  sign  of  this  tendency  is  the  advertised 
reference  of  the  new  psychology  to  sex;  this  is  a 
matter  on  which  notably  the  experts  differ  in  degree ; 
but  those  of  the  general  public  who  take  an  interest 
in  the  whole  subject  have  gained  the  impression  that 
sex  underlies  everything;  every  dream  is  to  be 
sexually  explained;  every  abnormality  of  character 

1  Not  even  this  book  is  infallible ;  nor  does  it  treat  the  sub- 
ject in  fair  and  adequate  relation  to  religious  belief  and  moral 
conduct. 

73 


74  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

or  behaviour  is  to  be  traced  to  a  sexual  origin.  It 
may  in  part  be  our  own  fault  for  attempting  to 
understand  what  is  beyond  our  reach;  but  the  pub- 
lished works  of  some  psycho-analysts  are  also  re- 
sponsible. Admittedly  the  sexual  application  of  the 
new  psychology  has  been  further  explored  than  any 
other  aspect;  time  will  almost  certainly  modify  some 
of  the  theories  now  bandied  about,  and  research 
into  other  aspects  of  the  subject  will  restore  a 
balance.  Meanwhile  the  public  mind  is  becoming 
permeated  with  the  suggestion  that  psycho-analysis 
means  sex-analysis  and  nothing  else ;  psychology  it- 
self to  many  people  already  means  sex-psychology. 
Like  any  other  factor  in  public  opinion,  this  sug- 
gestion spreads  rapidly  and  is  accepted  on  hearsay 
without  examination;  it  exercises  a  morbid  influ- 
ence. People  concentrate  their  thoughts  and  con- 
versation on  sex  in  a  manner  which  any  psycho- 
analyst would  be  the  first  to  admit  to  be  unhealthy. 
Nobody  is  in  reality  to  blame  for  this  state  of 
things;  psychology,  as  we  saw  at  the  start,  is  the 
most  human  of  the  sciences ;  its  theories  or  conclu- 
sions are  more  nearly  within  the  comprehension  of 
the  layman  than  those  of  any  other  science.  We 
must  expect  to  suffer  the  disadvantages  as  well  as 
the  advantages  of  this  fact,  and  the  latter  are  greater 
both  in  number  and  importance.  For  instance,  the 
new  psychology  teaches  us : 


The  Psychology  of  Sin  75 

(1)  That  many  forms  of  what  the  layman  speaks 
of  as  "hysteria,  delusion,  obsession,  neurasthenia," 
are  due  to  the  blocking  of  a  primary  instinct  or  to 
the  dissociation  and  repression  of  a  past  event  from 
the  conscious  memory.    In  many  cases  the  cause  of 
the  illness  can  be  discovered  by  psycho-analysts  and 
the  illness  can  be  cured.     This  is  not  our  concern, 
but  that  of  skilled  practitioners. 

(2)  That  the  sex-instinct  with  its  perversions 
and  byways  plays  a  large  part  in  human  conduct 
in  a  manner  that  has  not  previously  been  defined 
or  explained.     This  is  our  concern,  but  we  must 
preserve  a  proper  sense  of  proportion;  religion  at 
any  rate  is  concerned  with  much  else  besides  sex  in 
its  narrow  sense;  so,  for  that  matter,  is  psychology. 

(3)  That  there  are  certain  theories  about  homo- 
sexuality, i.e.,  the  diversion  of  the  sex-instinct  in  a 
man  or  woman,  boy  or  girl,  towards  a  member  of 
the  same  sex.    Hitherto  any  such  tendency  has  been 
regarded  as   an  abnormality  and  perversion.     As 
such  in  its  physical  expression  it  is  still  regarded; 
but  the  new  psychology  shows  many  ways  in  which 
the  sex-instinct  of  a  large  number  of  people,  by  no 
means  moral  perverts,  may  at  some  time  be  diverted 
from  its  normal  channel,  and,  not  being  adequately 
provided  for  in  another  way,  find  expression  in 
those  persons'  attitude  towards  people  of  the  same 
sex  as  themselves.    This  is  a  matter  for  the  study 


76  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

of  ministers  of  religion,  doctors,  and  above  all,  of 
parents,  and  of  all  those  who  have  the  care  of  chil- 
dren, in  so  far  as  it  may  lead  to  moral  perversion 
or  to  obsession  of  one  kind  or  another.  It  is  not 
here  our  concern  to  examine  it  in  detail,  but  it  is 
well  that  there  should  be  no  misunderstanding. 
Homo-sexual  tendencies  and  inclinations  are  not 
harmless ;  they  contain  latent  possibilities  of  physical 
perversion,  but  even  in  the  pure-minded  they  result 
in  wasteful  expenditure  of  emotion.  Absorption 
of  interest  in  any  one  other  person  drains  the  energy 
of  man  or  woman  into  a  useless  passion  and  mor- 
bid sentiment,  energy  which  could  and  should  be 
redirected  into  channels  less  selfish  and  more  profit- 
able and  productive.  Such  redirection  of  energy  will 
be  consideration  later. 

There  are,  however,  elements  in  the  new  psychol- 
ogy and  in  the  method  of  its  application  which  are 
most  relevant  to  Christian  faith  and  morals,  and 
within  the  comprehension  and  at  the  disposal  of  us 
all.  Some  of  these  psychological  elements  have 
already  been  outlined  in  these  pages,  and  the  law 
of  suggestion  has  been  considered.  If  we  have 
found  advantage  from  a  reverent  attempt  to  answer 
the  question  "How  does  faith  in  God  work  psy- 
chologically?" we  may  be  encouraged  to  face  the 
question,  "How  does  temptation  work?  What  is 
its  psychology?"  It  should  not  be  sufficient  merely 


The  Psychology  of  Sin  77 

to  answer  that  temptation  comes  from  the  world, 
flesh,  or  devil ;  that  is  simply  to  define  its  source. 
As  we  could  define  faith  more  intelligibly  than  by 
saying  that  through  faith  comes  the  power  of  God, 
so  we  can  grapple  better  with  temptation  and  sin 
through  examining  their  source  and  their  method 
of  action.  Onai  illustration  will  serve  to  prove 
the  urgency  of  this  further  inquiry.  On  a  super- 
ficial examination  of  his  character  and  conduct  a 
man  may  discover  that  his  temper  is  vile  or  that 
from  time  to  time  he  lies  blackly.  We  have  seen 
why  a  mere  effort  of  will-power,  however  gal- 
lantly exercised,  may  not  cure  him ;  even  if  he  tackle 
the  question  by  counter-suggestion  as  advocated  in 
the  last  chapter,  he  may  not  succeed,  because  he  is 
aiming  at  removing  not  merely  something  that  13 
wrong  and  tiresome  in  itself,  but  something  whose 
chief  significance  is  that  it  is  the  symptom  of  evil 
more  deeply  seated  in  him;  so  is  toothache  the 
symptom  of  an  exposed  nerve  or  of  internal  decay; 
it  cannot  be  adequately  met  by  oil  of  cloves  ap- 
plied on  the  surface. 

For  example,  there  are  at  least  three  quite  dis- 
tinct types  of  lies ;  knowledge  of  these  types  is  neces- 
sary to  those  puzzled  by  lying  in  themselves  or 
others : 

(a)  There  is  the  "pathological"  liar.  He  need 
not  detain  us  long.  He  falls  within  the  province  of 


78  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

the  trained  faith-healer  or  psycho-therapist  or  per- 
haps of  the  brain-specialist  or  surgeon.  He  literally 
cannot  help  lying.  He  may  be  in  most  or  even 
in  all  other  ways  an  apparently  normal  member 
of  society,  but  he  is  deceitful  in  most  trivial  things. 
He  lies  where  he  has  no  sort  of  advantage  to  gain. 
It  is  useless  to  blame  or  exhort  him.  You  may  not 
meet  him  very  commonly,  but  he  exists. 

(&)  He  is  to  be  distinguished  from  the  man  who 
lies  from  lack  of  education.  I  do  not  mean  that 
such  a  man  has  no  moral  sense,  no  power  to  dis- 
tinguish between  right  and  wrong.  But  he  has  a 
genuine  inability  to  distinguish  truth  from  false- 
hood. He  lacks  the  power  of  exact  thought  and 
precise  definition.  He  knows  perfectly  well  when 
he  is  deliberately  "lying"  in  a  moral  sense,  but  even 
such  a  lie  is  not  so  deliberate  and,  therefore,  not 
so  morally  offensive  as  the  lie  of  the  educated  man. 
The  man  of  poor  education  has  no  training  in  men- 
tal accuracy ;  his  environment  has  not  fostered  either 
that  or  truthfulness.  He  slips  into  a  "moral  lie" 
easily  on  that  account,  and  one's  dealings  with  him 
should  be  directed  accordingly.  There  is  a  moral 
sense,  a  conscience,  to  work  on,  but  again  mere 
blame  or  exhortation  is  both  useless  and  unfair; 
besides  these  he  deserves  sympathy  and  instruction. 

(c)  In  such  lying  and  the  lying  of  normal  and 
educated  people,  which  is  the  third  type,  the  lie, 


The  Psychology  of  Sin  79 

even  morally  considered,  is  not  the  most  important 
thing  in  itself.  When  I  tell  a  lie  what  makes  me 
do  so  ?  It  is  no  answer  to  tell  me  that  I  am  wicked, 
that  I  have  evil  in  my  heart.  I  know  that  per- 
fectly well,  but  I  want  to  get  at  the  root  of  the  evil 
so  that  I  may  know  exactly  where  I  am.  On  further 
examination  what  do  I  find?  Yesterday  I  lied 
from  fear,  or  from  selfishness,  or  vindictively,  or 
from  ambition,  or  just  from  sheer  mental  indolence. 
The  answer  may  not  be  clear  absolutely  at  once; 
but  the  links  between  the  lie  and  the  motive  from 
which  it  sprang  are  not  generally  hard  to  find  or 
many  in  number.  Having  then  discovered  myself 
to  be  cowardly,  or  crudely  selfish,  revengeful,  slack 
or  unscrupulously  ambitious,  I  still  ask  myself  "Why 
so?"  To  those  not  used  to  self-analysis  of  any 
kind  the  search  now  becomes  more  difficult,  but 
the  question  can  generally  be  answered.  "I  did  not 
realize  what  a  hold  my  dislike  of  So-and-So  had  on 
me.  He  is  in  my  way ;  I  want  to  get  on.  I  suppose' 
I  really  want  to  damage  him  in  the  eyes  of  other 
people.  Therefore  I  lied  about  him."  Uncon- 
trolled self -instinct  is  at  the  root  of  the  thing.  Sel- 
fish desire  to  get  on  at  all  costs  led  me  into  lying, 
and  that  desire,  not  the  lie,  is  the  chief  offence  to 
be  dealt  with. 

Or  again,  "I  suppose  I  have  got  into  the  way  of 
making  myself  out  to  be  better  or  more  clever  than 


8o  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

I  really  am.  I  almost  persuade  myself  that  I  have 
done  things  that  I  have  not,  and  barely  realize  that 
I  am  lying  when  I  talk  about  these  things.  I  am 
too  anxious  to  stand  well  with  other  people  and 
care  too  much  about  their  opinion."  Here  the  social 
or  herd  instinct  is  seeking  wrong  expression ;  pride 
and  desire  for  influence  brought  the  lie  to  birth. 
Yet  again,  "Fear  made  me  lie.  I  am  afraid  of 
being  found  out.  I  have  given  way  to  my  sex- 
instinct  immorally  and  seek  to  conceal  the  act  or  to 
repeat  it."  Or  as  a  simpler  example  of  the  lie 
that  comes  from  the  sex-instinct:  "I  said  I  missed 
the  train.  I  lied.  I  wanted  an  extra  hour  with 
my  young  man." 

For  the  present  we  will  not  go  into  the  question 
of  possible  remedies  for  such  underlying  causes  of 
falsehood.  It  is  important  just  to  notice  that  most 
lies  can  thus  be  traced  back  to  a  primary  source  and 
that  that  source  will  generally  be  found  to  be  con- 
nected directly  or  indirectly  with  the  primary  in- 
stincts. In  outline  that  is  how  all  temptation  works 
and  all  sin  comes  to  be.  Whatever  be  accounted 
its  origin  theologically,  whatever  our  view  of  its 
moral  significance  and  religious  remedies,  it  is  well 
to  explore  the  method  of  its  working  in  us ;  that  is 
one  of  the  ways  to  secure  its  defeat.  Our  diagnosis 
of  our  moral  condition,  our  search  of  cause  for 
effect  is  similar  to  that  employed  daily  by  any  med- 


The  Psychology  of  Sin  8l 

ical  practitioner.  Our  general  method  is  in  a  normal 
matter  akin  to  the  psycho-analytic  method  used  by 
experts  in  dealing  with  abnormal  people.  The  psy- 
cho-therapist's insistence  on  the  importance  of  pri- 
mary instincts  in  the  details  of  life  is  equalled  by  our 
own  sense  of  their  importance  when  we  hold  a  court 
of  moral  inquiry  into  our  conduct.  Such  rigid 
inquiry  has  been  urged  by  Christian  teachers  in  all 
ages  under  the  name  of  self-examination;  the  pro- 
cedure of  such  self-examination  has  often  been  in 
its  own  way  as  highly  skilful  as  psycho-analysis 
itself.  Yet  the  average  Christian  regards  any  such 
self-examination  as  tedious  and  unnecessary,  as  a 
duty  to  be  performed  for  God's  pleasure  by  the  in- 
tensely religious  with  the  object  of  achieving  a 
grovelling  sense  of  sinfulness.  Whereas  penitence 
for  sin  is  a  duty  to  God,  the  process  by  which  we 
reach  the  penitent  stage  serves  another  purpose  as 
well;  self-examination,  seriously  undertaken,  leads 
us  to  understand  and  so  deliberately  to  regulate  the 
forces  that  would  otherwise  govern  us  against  our 
will. 

Let  us  now  examine  farther  how  temptation 
works  and  sin  follows  from  it,  and  then,  in  the  next 
chapter,  to  what  extent  penitence  itself  has  a  psy- 
chological as  well  as  a  religious  significance.  Though 
only  one  example  has  been  given  here,  self-exami- 
nation will  reveal  to  anyone  that  sin  derives  its 


82  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

power  in  us  from  one  or  more  of  the  primary  in- 
stincts ;  however  many  links  connect  the  instinct 
with  the  act,  however  indirect  or  circuitous  that  con- 
nection, that  relation  exists  between  the  one  and  the 
other.  The  psychological  explanation  of  what  Chris- 
tians call  sin  is  roughly  as  follows.  Every  man  has 
a  store  of  energy  ("psychic  energy")  at  his  dis- 
posal for  use  through  the  exercise  of  the  primary 
instincts;  each  such  instinct  has,  as  it  were,  its 
own  "compartment"  for  its  share  of  this  energy. 
The  experts  do  not  completely  agree  as  to  the  extent 
to  which  energy  can  be  transferred  from  one  com- 
partment to  another,  or  what  reserves  of  energy 
there  may  be  over  and  above  the  energy  so  divided; 
there  seems,  however,  to  be  general  agreement  that 
to  each  instinct  there  belongs  at  least  some  supply  of 
energy  absolutely;  and  that  such  energy  cannot  be 
diverted  into  any  other  channel  than  that  for  which 
it  exists;  yet,  at  any  rate,  a  considerable  amount 
of  energy  is  transferable.  For  instance,  a  normal 
man  or  woman  cannot  be  sexless,  without  sexual 
emotions  or  desires,  but,  at  any  rate,  a  large  pro- 
portion of  the  energy  at  the  disposal  of  the  sex- 
instinct  can,  by  man  or  woman,  be  diverted  and  ab- 
sorbed into  activities  prompted  by  the  self -instinct 
or  the  social  instinct.  Again,  a  man  may  divert 
a  large  portion  of  energy  belonging  to  the  self- 
instinct  and  the  social  instinct  and  may  use  it  through 


The  Psychology  of  Sin  83 

the  channel  of  the  sex-instinct.  Yet  again,  a  man 
may  be  so  absorbed  in  selfish  ambitions  that  he  is 
indifferent  to  the  claims  of  the  community  on  him 
and  allows  barely  any  sex-interest  in  his  life;  his 
energy  is  diverted  from  the  sex-instinct  and  the 
social  instinct  and  finds  its  expression  mostly  through 
the  self -instinct.  Many  people  through  heredity  or 
through  the  suggestion  of  their  environment  habitu- 
ally discharge  a  maximum  of  the  energy  at  their 
disposal  through  one  channel  or  the  other.  They 
live  for  self  or  for  sexual  gratification  or  for  the 
herd;  one  or  the  other  of  these  three  becomes  the 
dominant  purpose  of  their  lives. 

It  is  not  easy  for  anyone  but  the  trained  scientist 
to  distinguish  the  action  of  one  primary  instinct 
from  that  of  another;  so  many  actions  seem  to 
spring  from  a  blending  of  at  least  two.  While  this 
must  be  borne  in  mind,  we  shall  continue  to  treat 
the  instincts  separately  for  the  purpose  of  our 
analysis. 

Moral  offences  arising  from  a  misuse  of  the 
social  or  herd-instinct  are  not  so  noticeable  or  so 
generally  denounced  as  some  others.  They  are  often 
negative,  though  from  a  Christian  point  of  view, 
no  less  serious.  A  typical  illustration  is  provided 
by  the  man  who  delights  in  and  always  seeks  the 
company  of  his  fellow-men  without  any  desire  to 
make  any  contribution  to  their  general  welfare; 


84  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

or  the  woman,  who  exhausts  the  energy  of  her 
social  instinct  in  what  she  refers  to  heavily  as  her 
"social  duties,"  her  "society  engagements,"  but  has 
no  mind  to  spare  for  her  social  responsibilities. 
West-End  Clubs  and  East-End  "pubs"  afford  many 
examples  of  the  prostitution  of  the  social  instinct. 
Such  an  indictment  may  or  may  not  be  justified  from 
a  purely  ethical  standpoint;  it  might  be  urged  that 
"social  engagements"  in  any  class  of  life  are  harm- 
less occupations  for  spare  time  and  energy.  This 
is  perfectly  true,  but  for  Christians  an  excess  of 
them  means  a  denial  of  the  duty  of  service  to  the 
community  which,  from  the  Christian  standpoint, 
should  absorb  most  of  the  energy  attached  to  the 
social  instinct.  Such  service  to  the  community  does 
not  apply  simply  to  slum-work  or  missionary  ac- 
tivities at  home  or  abroad;  it  does  not  involve  the 
necessity  of  cutting  away  all  social  engagements  of 
a  recreative  kind.  But  it  does  mean  that  the  social 
instinct  should  be  exercised  not  merely  as  an  indul- 
gence but  as  a  prime  responsibility.  So  it  is  often 
exercised  in  striking  fashion  in  ordinary  social  ways. 
Neglect  of  this  responsibility  is  morally  worse  when 
the  energy  proper  to  the  social  instinct  is  almost 
wholly  diverted  to  the  attainment  of  sexual  grati- 
fication or  of  selfish  ambition. 

Wrong  actions  which  are  positively  harmful  are 
also  due  to  the  social  instinct,  which,  reinforced 


The  Psychology  of  Sin  85 

by  the  minor  instinct  of  imitation,  may  dominate  a 
man  as  completely  as  sex  or  self.  The  instinct  of 
imitation  is  necessary  in  securing  for  us  that  power 
of  adaptability  required  to  meet  the  varying  circum- 
stances of  life,  and  in  protecting  the  common  in- 
terests of  the  herd.  Deliberately  or  unconsciously 
we  are  always  imitating.  A  path  trodden  by  others 
through  a  wood  will  be  the  best  route  for  anyone 
wishing  to  reach  the  other  side  of  the  wood  as 
quickly  or  easily  as  possible;  hence  we  follow  it. 
The  obvious  uses  of  imitation  tend  to  make  us  re- 
gard the  herd  in  all  matters  as  a  guide.  This  tend- 
ency is  enormously  increased  by  the  power  of  the 
social  instinct  within  us.  A  man  dominated  by  tha^ 
instinct,  to  the  exclusion  of  any  moral  consideration, 
will  deliberately  seek  to  be  in  all  things  with  the 
majority,  and  to  do  as  they  do. 

However,  the  social  instinct  is  found  active  in 
many  useful  departments  of  life  which  do  not  neces- 
sarily bear  much  or  any  moral  complexion.  The 
esprit  de  corps  which  is  of  considerable  moral  ad- 
vantage in  school  or  athletic  club,  parish  or  political 
party  or  church  is  derived  from  this  instinct,  and 
may  form  an  admirable  channel  for  its  expression. 
The  danger  of  any  such  expression  is  that  its  sphere 
may  become  too  narrow  and  exclusive.  The  spirit 
of  patriotism  is  the  biggest  general  expression  of 
the  social  instinct  and  has  prompted  men  and  women 


86  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

to  great  nobility  of  life  and  death;  but  the  sphere 
even  of  patriotism  is  smaller  than  the  Christian 
conception  of  humanity  itself  realized  as  a  bond  be- 
tWeen  all  men.  To  this  conception  we  can  reach 
forward  using  lesser  loyalties  as  the  school  for  the 
development  of  the  social  instinct  to  this  its  high- 
est fulfilment. 

Sin  in  connection  with  the  stronger  instinct  of 
self  may  be  dealt  with  under  the  headings  of  its  two 
commonest  expressions. 

(a)  There  is  the  man  (and  he  is  perhaps  the 
average  man)  who  puts  self,  in  peace  time  at  any 
rate,  before  the  claims  of  citizenship,  largely  con- 
ceived; yet  he  is  anxious  to  render  service  to  the 
community  and  to  help  forward  the  general  welfare 
provided  that  his  own  economic  conditions  of  life, 
his  general  habits,  amusements,  conventions  are  not 
sacrificed.  He  would  be  prepared,  on  grounds  that 
it  is  not  easy  to  contest  except  by  means  of  religion, 
to  maintain  that  he  was  a  good  citizen,  paid  his 
taxes,  subscribed  to  charities  "according  to  his 
means"  and  led  a  respectable  existence. 

(6)  Then  there  is  the  man  who  puts  self  first 
"regardless."  Convention  may  restrain  him  in  cer- 
tain directions,  the  law  in  others,  but  he  acknowl- 
edges the  claims  of  no  one  upon  him  and  regards 
his  energy,  money  and  time  as  completely  at  his 
own  disposal  for  his  own  selfish  purposes.  It  is  well 


The  Psychology  of  Sin  87 

to  note  that  it  is  possible  for  even  a  sincerely  re- 
ligious person  to  indulge  the  self-instinct  almost  ex- 
clusively; the  search  for  personal  salvation  to  the 
exclusion  of  all  else  may  be,  though  less  obviously 
baneful  to  society,  at  any  rate,  just  as  "selfish." 
The  difference,  for  instance,  in  moral  value  between 
devoting  one's  life  to  saving  one's  soul  without 
thought  of  others  and  devoting  one's  life  to  saving 
one's  pocket  and  convenience  has  been  not  infre- 
quently exaggerated. 

Fortunately  there  is  also  another  extreme.  Some 
men  will  regard  their  "livelihood"  simply  as  a 
means  to  an  end.  In  order  to  serve  the  community 
they  must  themselves  live  and  make  proper  provision 
for  those  dependent  on  them.  Beyond  this  their 
object  is  not  self-interest.  Even  their  means  of 
livelihood  is  regarded  by  them  equally  as  a  means 
of  service.  All  the  available  energy  at  the  disposal 
of  the  self -instinct,  after  securing  the  bare  neces- 
sities of  life,  is  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  social 
instinct  for  the  advantage  of  the  community  in  the 
widest  sense. 

Therefore  sin  by  means  of  the  self -instinct,  i.e., 
"selfishness,"  may  be  variously  defined.  In  effect 
it  could  be  summed  up  as  "The  development  of  the 
self-instinct  at  the  cost  of  the  responsibilities  at- 
taching to  the  possession  of  other  instincts,  especially 
of  the  'social  instinct,'  or  the  diversion  of  the 


88  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

energy  proper  to  other  instincts  towards  the  attain- 
ment of  selfish  ends." 

This  may  seem  a  cold,  mechanical  definition  of 
wrong  doing,  but  it  is  of  practical  significance  in 
the  sphere  of  morals  and  religion.  The  call  to 
Christian  living  and  Christian  service  seems  to  so 
many  people  a  summons  to  them  to  deny  their  hu- 
man nature,  to  act  contrary  to  their  instincts;  such 
a  plea  is  often  a  mere  argument  or  excuse,  but 
equally  often  it  is  sincere.  It  can,  however,  be 
shown  that  side  by  side  with  sex  and  self  there  is 
a  great  social  instinct,  equipped  with  its  appropriate 
energy,  by  means  of  which,  as  through  a  normal 
part  of  his  human  nature,  man  can  respond  to  the 
call  of  the  Divine.  Once  this  is  recognized  it  will 
be  seen  that  the  demand  for  service  is  not  even 
"humanly  speaking"  impossible ;  that  the  ability  to 
serve,  the  function  of  service  does  not  depend  solely 
on  inspiration  and  power  miraculously  supplied  to 
believers  alone.  The  Church  through  the  ages  has 
persevered  in  asserting  that  in  man's  natural  endow- 
ment there  was,  latent  perhaps,  atrophied,  starved 
or  misapplied,  that  which  was  capable  of  responding 
to  the  divine  call.  I  am  not  trying  to  identify  the 
"religious  instinct"  with  the  social  instinct,  cer- 
tainly not  on  the  Godward  side  of  religion ;  but  I  do 
maintain  that  the  love  of  our  fellow-men,  the  man- 
ward  side  of  our  religion  has  its  driving- force  in 


The  Psychology  of  Sin  89 

the  social  instinct,  even  as  faith  works  in  part 
through  a  law  of  the  mind.  The  call  to  service  is 
not  a  call  to  fight  all  our  human  nature,  to  beat 
ourselves  down,  to  be,  in  that  sense,  unnatural ;  it  is 
a  call  to  divert  and  apply  rightly  as  much  of  our 
energy  as  possible,  through  a  channel  which  already 
exists  in  our  human  nature  and  is  actually  a  part  of 
us.  It  is  just  because  the  two  other  instincts,  sex 
and  self,  apart  or  combined,  are  so  powerful  and 
arrayed  in  such  antagonism  to  any  ideal  develop- 
ment of  the  social  instinct,  so  grudging  in  the  energy 
which  they  will  allow  to  be  diverted  from  them- 
selves, that  we  need  God's  power  to  help  us  order 
ourselves  aright.  Just  because  the  social  instinct  is 
not  so  dominant  in  us  as  either  of  the  other  two, 
we  need  faith  in  God  to  recognize  it  as  the  peculiar 
means  for  the  attainment  of  God's  purposes  in  the 
world.  As  long  as  the  social  instinct  is  abused  or 
not  fully  used  we  lack  that  full  development  of  the 
personality  which  might  be  ours.  The  cure  for 
love  of  self  is  love  of  man;  love  of  man  is  the 
best  way  in  which  we  can  express  our  love  of  God. 
That  is  the  Christian  Gospel. 

This  description  of  temptation  and  sin  through 
the  channels  of  the  self  and  social  instincts  seems 
inevitably  to  cast  a  moral  slur  upon  what  is  called 
"personal  ambition."  But  all  our  instincts  are  nec- 
essary to  our  life  and  general  well-being  in  the 


QO  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

world,  the  self-instinct  most  of  all.  Its  strength 
in  our  nature  is  the  primary  incentive  to  work,  to 
maintain  our  place  in  the  swift  current  of  life;  our 
desire  to  get  on  in  life  is  perfectly  legitimate,  and 
up  to  a  certain  point  it  is  entirely  beneficial  to  the 
community  of  which  we  are  members,  because  it 
impels  us  to  be  producers  and  not  merely  consumers 
or  parasites.  If  a  man  is  robbed  of  his  rightful 
sense  of  individuality  he  becomes  less  than  a  man; 
deprive  him  of  personal  ambition  and  you  deprive 
his  life  of  the  mainspring  with  which  he  is  naturally 
endowed  and  to  which  he  is  morally  entitled.  The 
redirection  and  proper  use  of  the  energy  of  the 
self-instinct  need  not  involve  any  unnatural  or  harm- 
ful suppression  of  self;  if  the  Christian  disciple 
learns  from  his  religion  that  he  must  be  unselfish, 
he  also  learns  from  the  same  source  the  intimate 
sanctity  of  human  personality,  the  supreme  impor- 
tance of  the  individual  to  God,  and  God's  need  of 
him.  Not  only  does  God  love  him  personally,  but 
God  has  a  part  for  him  to  play  in  service  to  the 
community.  That  part  is  to  be  played  by  the  due 
development  of  his  powers,  and  such  development 
is  the  highest  fulfilment  of  ambition.  Influence  and 
leadership,  the  aim  and  end  of  much  human  am- 
bition, are,  from  a  Christian  standpoint,  legitimate 
and  necessary  motives  for  action.  Ambition  is 
morally  bad  only  when  self -aggrandisement  is  the 


The  Psychology  of  Sin  91 

motive  which  prompts  the  attempt  to  exert  influ- 
ence, and  when  leadership  and  power  become  ends 
in  themselves.  The  jostling  ambition  that  is  un- 
scrupulous of  the  fate  of  rivals,  that  is  prompted 
by  unworthy  motives  and  seeks  purely  selfish  ends, 
is  evidence  of  self -instinct  run  amok.  The  purpose 
of  life,  the  motives  for  conducting  life  must  then 
be  reconsidered,  the  aim  changed,  and  the  energy  re- 
directed accordingly. 

I  do  not  propose  to  dwell  in  any  detail  on  the  sin 
incident  to  our  possession  of  a  sex-instinct.  It  is 
earlier  and  more  precocious  in  its  development,  more 
insistent  in  its  demands,  more  apparently  involved  in 
human  activity  than  either  of  the  other  two  in- 
stincts. Though  in  most  people  its  period  of  domi- 
nation at  a  maximum  may  be  confined  to  but  a 
certain  number  of  our  three-score  years  and  ten,  it 
leaves  its  trail  across  practically  the  whole  of  life. 
For  this  very  reason  mankind  bows  down  before  it, 
recognizes  and  admits  its  sway,  and  exaggerates  it. 
While  the  last  thing  we  should  safely  do  is  to 
belittle  the  importance  and  the  force  of  the  sex- 
instinct  in  human  development,  yet  we  should  con- 
sider whether  or  not  it  is  in  fact  as  all-pervading 
and  as  unescapable  in  its  demands  as  we  make  out. 
Generation  after  generation  grows  up  into  the  idea 
that  the  word  "instinct"  itself  means  little  else  than 
sex,  that  human  nature  is  exclusively  concerned 


92  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

with  reproduction.  In  school,  in  factory,  in  life 
as  a  whole,  men  and  women,  but  chiefly  men,  de- 
liberately or  carelessly  instil  into  the  minds  of  those 
younger  than  themselves  that  sex  and  all  to  do  with 
it  is  the  chief  or  only  thing  in  life.  Many  of  us 
long  before  we  are  conscious  of  sexual  passion  are 
expecting  it;  we  are  busy  looking  for  sex  in  life,  we 
are  ready  to  be  dominated  by  it.  As  young  men 
this  suggestion  is  strengthened  in  us  by  the  ap- 
parent universality  of  sex-indulgence;  we  do  not 
know  that  many  men  talk  as  if  they  lived  immorally 
when  as  a  matter  of  fact  they  do  not;  that  many 
more,  who  do  so  indulge,  fashion  for  themselves  the 
falsehood  that  everybody's  doing  it.  The  power  of 
this  suggestion  is  incalculable.  The  prominence 
which  is  given  to  sex  (meaning  sexual  passion)  and 
its  power,  does  not  represent  its  true  proportion 
and  relation  to  other  instincts;  the  early  curiosity, 
the  expectation,  are  not  due  solely  to  the  power  of 
the  sex-instinct  by  itself;  they  are  due  in  part  to 
bad  suggestion,  enormously  strengthened  by  the  at- 
mosphere of  mystery  which  cloaks  the  whole  sub- 
ject. 

However  that  may  be,  we  are  approaching  sex 
now  not  as  a  matter  of  education  or  of  child- 
psychology,  but  as  a  fact  in  the  lives  of  men  and 
women  of  to-day.  We  must  also  regard  it  in  no  nar- 
row sense,  but  as  the  whole  creative  instinct  and 


The  Psychology  of  Sin  93 

faculty  in  mankind.  Christianity  condemns,  as  sin- 
ful, fornication,  adultery  (its  specialized  form), 
homo-sexuality  (in  its  physical  expression),  im- 
purity of  heart.  All  these  are  positive  sins.  Psy- 
chologically considered  they  are  wrong  expressions 
of  the  sex-instinct  which  may  or  may  not  be  in  any 
particular  individual  baulked  of  its  proper  outlet. 
If  the  normal  channel  is  blocked,  much  of  the  energy 
proper  to  the  sex-instinct  may  be  directed  into  the 
channels  by  which  the  energies  of  the  other  in- 
stincts discharge  themselves ;  or,  failing  this,  the 
energy  will  overflow  like  a  river  cutting  new  chan- 
nels for  itself  or  flowing  down  some  channel  carved 
out  years  before  by  suggestion  or  circumstance  and 
since  disused.  Hence  unnatural  vice,  self -abuse, 
fornication,  delusion,  obsession.  The  advice  of  the 
religious  teacher  and  of  the  physician  strangely 
agree;  the  former  besides  urging  the  need  for  true 
repentance  and  forgiveness,  which  will  be  consid- 
ered in  the  next  chapter,  says :  "To  cure  impurity 
of  heart  cultivate  thoughts  that  are  positively  good; 
occupy  the  mind  positively;  pray  for  the  positive 
virtues  and  believe  in  God's  power  to  make  you 
clean.  To  cure  fornication  find  other  and  creative 
channels  for  surplus  physical  energy.  Consider  your 
duty  to  the  community ;  you  must  not  degrade  your- 
self and  others.  Other  people  are  involved  in  your 
sin."  The  psycho-therapist,  apart  from  courses  of 


94  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

psychoanalytic,  hypnotic  or  other  treatment,  says: 
"Interest  yourself  in  people  unselfishly;  get  out  of 
yourself;  find  new  occupations  for  spare  time  and 
energy.  Apply  your  creative  instinct  in  some  other 
direction  positively.  Take  plenty  of  exercise,  have 
a  cold  bath,  etc."  It  is  surely  almost  unnecessary 
to  fit  these  two  counsels  together;  if  only  all  re- 
ligious teachers  would  learn  from  the  new  psychol- 
ogy how  sexual  vice  works  in  the  human  personality, 
and  if  all  psycho-therapists  believed  in  the  power  of 
God  and  not  merely  in  the  power  of  instincts,  both 
penitent  and  patient  alike  would  receive  even  bet- 
ter advice. 

Man  is  endowed  by  God  with  sexual  instinct  for 
the  consummation  of  love  in  marriage  and  the  re- 
production of  his  kind ;  the  instinct  is  equipped  with 
its  proper  energy,  varying  in  degree  according  to 
the  individual's  temperament  and  past  life.  The 
activities  resulting  from  this  instinct  are  pliable  to 
suggestion  and  can  be  formed  into  habits  good  or 
bad.  The  instinct  has  enlarged  its  sphere  of  action 
during  human  development  because  the  advance  of 
civilization  with  its  houses  and  police,  its  gas-stoves 
and  its  motor-lorries,  has  lessened  the  demands  made 
upon  the  human  energy  needed  for  keeping  alive, 
defending  and  feeding  a  family.  The  more  that 
comfort,  convenience,  organization  come  into  hu- 
man affairs,  the  more  human  energy  is  freed  for 


The  Psychology  of  Sin  95 

sexual  or  other  diversion.  But  side  by  side  with 
this  material  evolution  has  come  a  development  of 
the  arts  of  living.  Forms  of  recreation  have  been 
multiplied  a  millionfold;  these  and  educational  op- 
portunities, countless  hobbies,  the  call  to  invent  and 
explore,  the  arts  and  crafts,  a  thousand  and  one 
outlets  for  the  spirit  of  adventure  and  romance, 
have  grown  up  and  are  used  deliberately  as  channels 
for  the  surplus  energy  which  our  forefathers  did 
not  have  to  spare;  often  enough  these  outlets  are 
ignored.  Happy  the  man  or  woman,  who,  baulked 
of  the  legitimate  outlet  for  sexual  energy,  knows 
how  to  divert  it  into  some  such  channel. 

The  baulked  sex-instinct  in  its  bad  development 
is  merely  lustful;  in  its  better  application  it  is  the 
most  creative  force  in  the  life  of  the  world.  It 
has  produced  glories  of  music,  sculpture,  painting 
and  literature  to  enrich  human  life.  In  the  channel 
provided  by  the  social  instinct,  through  the  arts  or 
in  any  form  of  daily  work  or  in  more  particular 
service  to  mankind  at  large,  the  sex-instinct  in  man 
or  woman  serves  to  promote  the  greater  glory  of 
God.  Its  adjunct,  the  parental  instinct,  applied 
in  other  ways  can  benefit  mankind  at  large,  particu- 
larly the  weak  and  sick,  the  lonely  and  fallen,  by; 
the  tenderness  and  love  which  have  been  denied 
their  natural  outlet. 

In  all  people  all  surplus  sex-energy  cannot  be  so 


96  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

diverted.  They  would  be  less  disheartened,  they 
would  live  purer  lives,  if  they  realized  the  scientific 
fact  that  much  more  of  that  energy  than  they  sup- 
posed can  be  unselfishly  and  happily  employed.  For 
what  is  left  God  alone  can  help  them,  and  only  those 
who  believe  in  Him  will  win  through.  But  in  view 
of  what  science  can  teach  us,  it  is,  as  in  other  things 
we  have  considered,  cruel,  unwise  and  unfair  that  in 
this  matter  the  power  of  God  should  be  invoked  di- 
rectly, in  total  disregard  of  aids  revealed  to  us 
equally  by  God  through  the  mind  of  man.  After 
what  has  been  already  said  in  these  pages,  it  should 
be  hardly  necessary  to  repeat  here  that  in  dealing 
with  sin  faith  in  the  resistless  power  of  God,  as 
revealed  in  Jesus  Christ,  is  the  first  and  final  requi- 
site. This  book  is  a  plea  for  that  truth.  It  is  also 
a  plea  for  sincerity  and  common  sense. 

In  considering  how  the  primary  instincts,  being 
the  channels  of  all  human  action,  are  necessarily 
the  channels  of  sinful  action,  we  are  bound  to  refer, 
as  once  in  this  chapter  already,  to  what  is  called 
the  religious  instinct.  This  is  variously  regarded 
as  another  primary  instinct,  or  as  another  more  fun- 
damental than  the  three  primaries,  or  as  inherent 
in  all  three  and  working  chiefly  along  the  channel 
of  the  social  and  sex  instincts.  We  should  be  very 
slow  to  accept  any  such  definition  or  to  reach  any 
final  conclusion  on  the  subject.  The  relation  of 


The  Psychology  of  Sin  97 

instinct  to  instinct,  the  tabulation  of  instincts  as 
primary  or  secondary,  are  matters  of  different  opin- 
ion amongst  psychologists;  even  the  three  primary 
instincts  taken  in  this  book  as  the  basis  of  human 
action  are  not  so  acknowledged,  as  they  have  been 
here  treated,  by  all  psychologists.  The  exact  place 
of  a  religious  instinct,  indeed  its  very  existence, 
would  be  hotly  disputed.  While  we  do  not  admit 
any  question  of  the  real  existence  of  the  religious- 
faculty  in  human  nature,  and  though  we  may  be 
certain  that  man's  search  for  God  is  an  instinctive 
movement  to  satisfy  an  instinctive  craving,  yet  the 
exact  place  given  to  this  element  in  a  scientific  analy- 
sis of  human  nature  need  not  occupy  us.  It  is  the 
fact  of  it  which  concerns  us;  and  in  a  subject  which, 
even  apart  from  religion,  is  still  so  debatable  it 
would  be  unwise  to  take  up  any  further  position 
too  definitely.  Nor,  as  has  been  said,  is  it  necessary 
to  do  so. 

We  do,  however,  claim  this :  that  man's  need  for 
God  is  deep-rooted  in  his  nature,  that  an  instinct  for 
God  is  as  much  a  part  of  his  nature  as  any  other 
attribute;  it  is  fundamental  and  God  alone  can  sat- 
isfy it.  But  the  religious  instinct  is  not  so  insistent 
in  its  demands  as  any  of  the  three  instincts  that 
we  have  called  primary;  deliberately  or  through  ig- 
norance it  can  be  more  easily  suppressed  than  the 
primary  instincts  and  than  many  other  lesser  in- 


98  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

stincts;  inevitably  so.  Except  in  rare  instances  the 
religious  instinct  does  not  dominate  men,  as  sex 
or  self  can  dominate;  religion  is  not  so  easy,  and 
that  is  why  we  should  hesitate  to  name  that  in- 
stinct as  primary  together  with  the  others.  At  the 
same  time  we  claim  also  that  the  satisfaction  of  any 
or  all  of  the  three  main  instincts  will  not  satisfy 
man  completely  apart  from  God;  in  this  way  it  can 
be  said  that  religion  is  inherent  in  the  primary  in- 
stincts. This  connection  has  already  been  observed ; 
man's  highest  form  of  self-interest  is  displayed  in 
the  care  of  that  in  him  which  is  immortal,  of  God  ; 
that  interest  again  is  best  served  by  the  man  who 
rates  even  that  supreme  gift,  his  soul,  as  less  to 
him  than  the  interests  of  his  fellow-men ;  in  seeking 
the  best  interests  of  society  at  large,  at  whatever 
sacrifice  of  his  own,  he  is  exercising  his  social  in- 
stinct in  its  highest  form ;  again  the  man  most  con- 
stantly and  continuously  so  lives  and  acts  who  be- 
lieves that  in  so  doing  he  is  serving  God.  The  ac- 
tion of  a  religious  sense  in  the  activities  of  the  sex- 
instinct  is  not  at  first  so  obvious,  but  it  is  there. 
Many  people  know  by  experience  within  themselves 
the  close  connection  between  religious  and  sexual 
emotion.  Sex,  in  its  broadest  sense,  is  the  instinct 
to  life,  the  creative  instinct ;  there  is  no  channel  more 
satisfying  for  the  absorption  of  superfluous  sex- 
energy  than  creative  service  religiously  inspired, 


The  Psychology  of  Sin  99 

Sexual  intercourse  in  its  narrow  sense,  regarded  as 
a  divinely  appointed  means  of  expressing  human 
love  and  reproducing  life,  becomes  a  sacrament; 
but  even  that  sacrament  will  not  fully  satisfy,  nor 
will  all  the  other  forms  of  human  love,  many  of 
them,  though  not  consciously  sexual,  deriving  their 
force  from  the  sex-instinct,  satisfy  man  or  woman; 
sex  is  too  big  to  find  final  satisfaction  anywhere 
but  in  God  Himself. 


Chapter  V:    Christianity  and 
Psycho-Analysis 

We  have  seen  that  faith  is  not  the  only  requisite 
for  the  perfection  of  the  Christian's  personal  char- 
acter. The  Christian  religion  is  also  a  call  to  re- 
pentance, and  the  Christian  faith  itself  implies  a 
complete  surrender  of  the  will  to  the  will  of  God. 
Absolute  trust  in  Him  implies  absolute  willingness 
to  perform  His  will.  If  I  have  reserves  and  limita- 
tions on  this  point,  my  faith  in  Him  is  necessarily 
limited  as  well ;  I  shall  be  unwilling  to  trust  myself 
to  Him  in  respect  of  those  matters  in  which  I  wish 
to  follow  my  way,  not  His.  Most  men's  past  life 
is  full  of  such  reserves;  in  the  sphere  of  those  re- 
serves have  their  sins  been  committed.  No  fresh 
start  can  be  satisfactorily  made,  no  unencumbered 
channel  for  the  working  of  faith  can  be  found,  until 
those  sins  are  frankly  acknowledged,  recognized  in 
their  true  significance  and  done  away.  The  Chris- 
tian duty  of  repentance  involves  a  sincere  desire  to 
reform ;  the  penitent  must  sincerely  determine  not  to 
repeat  the  sin  in  question;  in  return  the  Christian 


Christianity  and  Psycho- Analysis  1O1 

religion  promises  forgiveness,  i.e.,  a  realization  of 
harmony  with  God,  or  reconciliation  with  Him. 

The  doctrine  of  Christian  forgiveness,  the  At- 
Onement,  is  not  vaguely  theological  or  merely  emo- 
tional; it  is  intensely  practical.  The  sinner  has 
crucified  Christ  afresh,  has  inflicted  pain  on  the  love 
of  God  Himself;  thus  sin  must  be  realized  as  in- 
gratitude treating  love  with  disdain,  as  selfishness 
trading  on  eternal  patience  and  pity ;  such  an  aspect 
of  sin  is  drawn  from  the  Christian  teaching  that 
the  love  of  God  is  the  love  of  man — that  as  a 
man  treats  his  fellow-man  or  woman  in  the  world, 
so  he  is  treating  Christ.  This,  again,  depends  on 
our  belief  in  the  Incarnation,  and  is  also  derived 
directly  from  the  words  of  Christ.  Such  a  view  of 
sin  properly  appreciated  stimulates  shame  and  re- 
morse and  leads  to  that  state  called  penitence,  in 
which  the  assurance  of  forgiveness  is  passionately 
desired.  This  sounds  a  matter  of  the  emotions  only, 
but  the  Church  in  all  ages  has  always  recognized 
the  intense  practical  significance  of  that  emotion; 
penitence  has  been  urged  and  stimulated  not  only 
as  a  duty  owed  to  a  loving  and  injured  friend,  but 
as  necessary  to  enable  the  penitent  to  secure,  through 
a  sense  of  forgiveness,  power  and  freedom  of  action 
for  the  future.  Granted  that  a  believer  is  trying 
to  live  rightly,  the  fact  of  unacknowledged  sin  con- 
stitutes a  conflict  within  him,  impeding  his  good 


1O2  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

intent  though  he  may  not  be  conscious  of  the  impedi- 
ment or  its  cause;  the  fact  of  sin  acknowledged  and 
repented,  but  not  felt  to  be  forgiven,  results  in  a 
conscious  lack  of  harmony,  and  fills  the  penitent 
with  a  sense  of  powerlessness.  The  burden  must 
roll  from  Pilgrim's  back  at  the  foot  of  the  Cross 
before  he  can  be  free  and  strong  to  serve. 

However  successful  we  may  be  in  discovering 
the  source  in  ourselves  from  which  a  sinful  action 
springs,  and  however  clear  we  may  be  as  to  the 
means  we  must  take  in  redirecting  the  energies  of 
our  instincts  aright,  the  guilt  of  sin  remains.  People 
who  believe  in  God  can  never  be  satisfied  simply 
to  explain  to  themselves  how  temptation  works ; 
they  recognize  that  they  must  do  more  than  lay  the 
charge  of  sin  at  the  door  of  their  instincts.  God 
gave  them  their  instincts  and  the  power  to  regulate 
their  energies.  Those  instincts  are  not  in  themselves 
sinful,  but  divine.  Therefore  a  sense  of  moral  guilt 
attaches  to  the  person  of  a  sinner  for  the  perversion 
of  powers  divinely  given. 

This  sense  of  moral  guilt  is  not  to  be  confused 
merely  with  sense  of  failure,  loss  of  confidence. 
Possible  remedies  for  that  have  already  been  in- 
dicated. Sense  of  moral  guilt  implies  more  than 
loss  of  faith;  it  involves  lack  of  harmony.  As 
the  worker,  studied  in  our  first  chapter,  could  not 
put  in  his  best  work  if  there  was  an  internal  dis- 


Christianity  and  Psycho- Analysis  103 

traction  or  questioning,  so  the  repentant  sinner  can- 
not make  his  best  amendment  of  life  if  he  is  handi- 
capped by  sense  of  guilt.  The  loss  o!  harmony  ex- 
perienced through  repented  but  unforgiven  sin  con- 
sists of  this :  the  sinner  is  not  sure  whether  he  is  ap- 
proved; he  thinks  his  past  sin,  having  spoilt  his 
record,  makes  further  effort  hardly  worth  while ;  he 
has  helped  to  put  Christ  on  the  Cross  and  cannot 
now  take  Him  down ;  he  no  longer  deserves  the  love 
of  God;  he  is  living  under  a  cloud  of  disapproval. 
Such  feelings  of  guilt,  if  they  become  tiresome, 
may  be  repressed,  detached  from  conscious  thinking, 
isolated  and  finally  forgotten.  But  the  memories 
remain  in  the  subconscious  mind  and  emerge  into 
the  conscious  unexpectedly  and  disastrously  from 
time  to  time.  Even  if  they  do  not  assert  their  pres- 
ence in  the  conscious  mind  at  all,  they  constitute 
a  conflict,  which  saps  the  man's  best  powers.  He  is 
not  fully  at  peace.  He  thinks  perhaps  that  he  is 
living  at  his  best,  whereas  he  has  no  real  con- 
ception of  what  his  best  might  be.  Or,  again,  he 
may  experience  a  sense  of  impotence  in  his  en- 
deavours to  follow  after  righteousness  and  not  know 
to  what  such  impotence  is  due. 

It  is  not  our  purpose  to  consider  here  in  detail  the 
means  by  which  assurance  of  forgiveness  can  be 
obtained.  It  is  a  matter  of  personal  experience 
that  is  uniquely  difficult  to  describe.  Forgiveness 


104  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

is  promised  to  those  who  truly  repent;  the  assur- 
ance may  come  through  prayer  and  personal  com- 
munion with  God ;  it  may  come  from  an  understand- 
ing of  its  reality  to  other  men  who  have  won  it,  such 
understanding  conveyed  through  sermon,  book  or 
conversation.  It  may  come  through  the  convinced 
statement  of  the  friend  or  spiritual  adviser  speak- 
ing with  authority;  it  may  come  through  a  belief 
in  the  authority  of  the  priest  to  pronounce  absolu- 
tion in  God's  name.  Those  who  have  sought  for 
and  secured  in  one  way  or  another  the  certainty  of 
forgiveness  testify  to  the  sense  of  renewed  power 
that  it  brings,  the  freedom  from  internal  conflict, 
worry  and  depression.  There  is  no  immorality  in 
the  past  life  that  now  need  be  repressed  into  ob- 
livion, for  God  Himself  will  "remember  our  sins 
no  more."  We  need  no  longer  be  ashamed  at  any- 
thing that  we  have  done,  so  ashamed  that  we  try 
to  pretend  to  ourselves  that  we  never  did  it  at  all ; 
we  have  faced  it  and  acknowledged  it,  and  Christ 
loves  us  still.  We  can  hold  up  our  heads  and  look 
God  and  man  in  the  face.  We  know  that  God  has 
so  forgiven  us  that  we  can  have  a  fair  start  again, 
and  that  we  are  fit  to  be  companions  of  Jesus  and 
to  have  His  full  power  in  our  lives.  This  is  har- 
mony and  peace.  After  all,  the  Christian  Church 
has  been  right.  Self-examination,  penitence  and 


Christianity  and  Psycho-Analysis  105 

forgiveness  are  the  first  requisites  in  the  Christian 
way  of  life. 

With  many  people  the  conflict  cannot  be  fought 
out,  or  the  pressure  eased  simply  by  a  solitary  search 
for  forgiveness.  They  seek  it  in  prayer  and  are 
not  sure  that  the  prayer  has  been  answered;  they 
try  to  "feel  forgiven,"  and  think  that  they  have  not 
yet  actually  had  that  experience.  They  need  help 
from  someone  else.  I  am  not  referring  simply  to 
the  practice  of  auricular  confession  and  absolution. 
Apart  even  from  the  particular  grace  of  such  ab- 
solution to  those  who  believe  in  it,  there  is  special 
value  very  often  in  the  confession  of  one  man  to 
another;  such  confession,  I  mean,  as  is  often  made 
by  a  member  of  any  religious  communion  to  his 
minister,  by  girl  to  teacher,  by  young  to  old,  by 
friend  to  friend.  There  is  a  class  of  person,  of 
course,  who  is  constantly  pouring  out  his  woes  to 
all  and  sundry,  who  is  continually  making  fresh 
confidants,  who  reveals  what  he  considers  his  in- 
most feelings  to  an  acquaintance  in  order  to  pro- 
voke an  intimacy.  He  or  she  is  not  to  be  encour- 
aged. Such  self -revelation  kills  any  proper  sense 
of  shame,  stimulates  self-conceit  or  morbid  in- 
trospection, strengthens  the  grip  of  bad  suggestion, 
and  is  often  grossly  insincere.  But  there  are  many 
people  suffering  from  the  effects  of  some  repres- 
sion, which  needs  relief  of  the  kind;  and  here  we 


106  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

shall  include  states  which  have  not  any  strong 
moral  tone,  where  penitence  and  forgiveness  are 
not  necessarily  in  question. 

The  laws  of  mind  and  behaviour,  which  lie  at  the 
base  of  the  practice  of  psycho-analysis  are,  as  we 
have  seen,  applicable  to  normal  people,  that  is  to 
people  who  are  not  sick  enough  in  mind  or  body  to 
need  psycho-therapeutic  treatment  or  to  be  classi- 
fied as  "cases  in  mental  pathology."  For  the  ab- 
normal in  such  things  is  merely  an  extension  of  the 
normal.  The  "Psychology  of  Insanity,"1  by  Bernard 
Hart,  whose  book  hardly  receives  justice  from  its 
title,  shows  this  quite  clearly.  The  woman  who 
tells  herself  on  insufficient  or  no  evidence  that 
Thursday,  whenever  it  falls  on  the  thirteenth  of  the 
month,  is  her  unlucky  day  will  never  regard  any 
evidence  that  would  contradict  her  theory ;  the  idea 
that  she  has  got  hold  of  is  put  into  a  special  corner 
of  her  mind  and  into  that  corner  she  will  only  admit 
evidence  which  she  can  argue  into  support  of  her 
theory.  Such  superstitions  or  delusions  are  so 
common  and  so  typical  of  ordinary  mentality  that 
they  count  as  normal.  The  inmate  of  an  asylum, 
who  wrongly  asserts  that  he  is  a  millionaire,  is  not 
unsimilar;  he  proves  his  wealth  by  indicating  the 
spacious  nature  of  his  park,  the  paid  attendants  in 
his  employ;  he  is  little  less  patient  of  contradiction 
1  Cambridge  University  Press. 


Christianity  and  Psycho- Analysis  107 

and  little  more  plausible  in  disposing  of  contra- 
dictory evidence  than  the  lady  who  thinks  Thurs- 
day is  unlucky.  Only  his  delusion  has  an  even 
stronger  hold  on  him ;  also  its  effects  are  injurious 
to  society;  he  is  classed  as  abnormal. 

So  the  neurasthenic,  who,  from  some  internal 
conflict  or  repression,  becomes  entirely  sleepless,  or 
loses  the  use  of  an  arm,  or  ceases  to  make  any  effort 
in  life  and  becomes  listless  and  dirty,  is  abnormal, 
and  a  fit  case  for  skilled  psycho-therapy.  The  cause 
of  the  sickness  is  revealed  through  psycho-analysis 
and  the  sickness  is  cured  largely  by  suggestion;  in 
degree  only,  but  not  in  general  character,  is  such 
sickness  different  from  the  irritability,  the  lack  of 
energy,  the  hesitation  or  other  sign  of  ineffective- 
ness displayed  by  the  normal  person  suffering  from 
a  less  serious  repression  or  conflict.  This  man  can 
be  helped  by  a  sympathetic  and  observant  friend. 

Let  us  take  the  simplest  possible  illustration :  the 
man  has  been  provoked  by  someone  to  great  anger; 
a  sense  of  injury  is  being  harboured;  the  anger  is 
severely  controlled  and  repressed ;  the  minor  instinct 
of  pugnacity  is  curbed.  The  man  would  describe 
himself  as  "boiling  over  inside";  if  he  succeeds  in 
dissociating  the  whole  incident  from  his  conscious 
thought,  several  innocent  people  will  probably  suffer 
from  his  irritability  during  the  process,  and  even 
after  the  repression  is  achieved.  He  may  not  know 


lo8  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

that  he  is  being  irritable  or,  knowing  that,  may  not 
recognize  the  cause.  Someone  else  with  or  without 
knowledge  of  the  original  incident  would  be  able  to 
tell  him  what  was  wrong  with  him,  and  could  help 
him  to  find,  from  cause  to  effect,  some  of  the  links 
which  the  man  himself  had  driven  into  the  sub-con- 
scious. An  illustration  will  shortly  be  given  show- 
ing how  it  is  possible  for  another  person  to  help  in 
rediscovering  these  links  when  the  very  fact  of  the 
repression  would  prevent  the  man  himself  from 
doing  so  unaided.  But,  further  than  this,  the  re- 
cital of  the  grievance,  revealed  to  the  sufferer  by 
such  means,  or  acutely  realized  by  him  already  as  a 
conflict,  will  relieve  a  pressure  which  has  become 
intolerable.  "Now  I've  told  someone  about  it,  I 
feel  better" — is  a  common  remark  under  such  cir- 
cumstances. It  is  not  only  that,  once  the  barrier 
of  reserve  has  been  broken  down,  useful  and  sen- 
sible advice  can  be  obtained;  but  the  actual  break- 
down of  that  barrier  has  itself  brought  the  neces- 
sary relief.  The  woman  who  nurses  the  grief  of 
her  widowhood,  is  unapproachable  on  the  subject, 
faces  the  world  smiling  and  then  finds  herself 
"nervy,"  sleepless,  restless,  would  save  herself  much 
suffering  and  enormously  increase  her  power  to 
take  up  life  again,  if  she  would  even  to  one  person 
unburden  herself,  and  with  someone's  help  acknowl- 
edge the  conflict  within  her  and  face  it  out.  So  in 


Christianity  and  Psycho- Analysis  109 

certain  cases  of  what  is  commonly  termed  "shell- 
shock,"  professionally  treated,  the  patient  is  en- 
couraged to  speak  of  and  describe  the  horrors  that 
he  is  trying  to  forget ;  the  pressure  of  pent-up  emo- 
tions is  relieved;  the  trouble  is  no  longer  repressed, 
but  is  admitted  and  faced  and  gradually  assumes 
its  normal  and  proper  proportion  in  the  realm  of 
things  that  are  past  and  over.1 

Again,  two  of  the  primary  instincts  may  be  in 
conflict;  a  man  is  ambitious  to  develop  his  powers 
in  life  for  his  own  personal  distinction  (self -in- 
stinct) or  for  the  sake  of  the  community  (social  in- 
stinct) ;  he  is  devoted  to  his  wife  and  children  (sex 
instinct)  ;  and  that  devotion  makes  great  demands 
on  him;  his  wife  is  not  interested  in  his  ambitions, 
or  doesn't  believe  in  them,  and  does  all  she  can  to 
claim  as  much  as  possible  of  her  husband's  atten- 
tion. He  is  torn  between  the  claims  of  two  funda- 
mental instincts ;  he  becomes  distracted  at  his  work 
by  thoughts  that  his  married  life  is  unsatisfactory 
and  is  continually  resenting  the  work  which  keeps 
him  away  from  home;  yet,  as  soon  as  he  is  settled 
happily  at  his  home  he  wants  to  get  away  and  work. 
He  does  not  recognize  what  is  wrong  with  him.  He 
gradually  starts  failing  in  his  life  outside  his  home, 
missing  opportunities,  making  mistakes;  at  home 

1  "Psychology  and  Psychotherapy."    W.  Brown,  M.D.,  D.Sc. 
Arnold. 


HO  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

he  becomes  irritable  or  worse.  It  is  no  good 
forcibly  stopping  down  the  impulses  of  one  instinct 
or  the  other.  The  conflict  must  be  faced  conscious- 
ly and  deliberately ;  the  facts  of  life  must  be  recog- 
nized and  a  compromise  effected  whereby  internal 
peace  can  be  secured.  Many  other  illustrations 
could  be  given  of  such  conflicts  between  instincts. 
Their  relief  and  solution  often  enough  is  the 
province  neither  of  sympathetic  friend  nor  neces- 
sarily of  psychotherapist,  but  of  minister  of  relig- 
ion. Something  further  on  such  cure  of  souls  will 
be  said  in  the  concluding  chapter  of  this  book. 

To  return  to  the  subject  of  forgiveness — repres- 
sions and  conflict  due  to  a  sense  of  moral  guilt  can 
often  only  be  relieved  through  the  help  of  a  confi- 
dant of  some  kind.  There  is  no  conviction  of  for- 
giveness sometimes  because  there  has  been  no  sense 
of  certainty  about  the  reality  of  confession;  con- 
fession to  God  may  seem  merely  like  confession  to 
oneself.  Praying  under  such  circumstances  may 
just  be  "thinking  and  arguing  on  one's  knees" — 
further  self-torture  and  self -reproach.  To  tell 
someone  else  about  it  all,  to  endure  the  shame  and 
humiliation,  and  then  feel  that  "it  has  been  told  and 
the  worst  is  over,"  this  constitutes  in  itself  an  enor- 
mous relief  from  strain.  Things  begin  to  assume 
their  right  proportion.  Devout  thankfulness  to 
God  that  "at  last  someone  else  knows,"  that,  human- 


Christianity  and  Psycho-Analysis  ill 

ly  speaking,  first  discovery  (one  of  the  most  painful 
consequences  of  sin)  is  a  thing  of  the  past  helps  to 
make  the  penitent  feel  reconciled  to  God  and  to  be- 
lieve in  the  possibility  of  His  forgiveness. 

Again,  a  feeling  of  failure  about  life,  worry  in 
life,  unsettlement  or  ineffectiveness  is  often  due  not 
to  sin,  acknowledged  and  unforgiven,  but  to  sin 
never  honestly  faced  and  now  "forgotten,"  repres- 
sed into  the  unconscious.  The  man  himself  can- 
not without  help  discover  what  is  wrong  with  him. 
Someone  else  hearing  from  hin.  his  other  troubles 
and  considering  his  difficulties  with  a  detachment 
impossible  to  the  man  himself  will  see  that  some- 
where behind,  in  some  underlying  circumstance, 
some  sphere  of  his  past  life  shut  off  from  God  be- 
cause he  dare  not  "let  God  see,"  lies  the  root  of  his 
trouble.  The  friend  can  help  the  man  to  rediscover 
the  connecting  links  which  will  prove  to  him  the 
connection  between  past  sin  and  present  infirmity 
of  purpose.  During  the  past  fortnight  the  follow- 
ing example  has  become  known  to  me  (and  I  have 
leave  to  repeat  it)  of  the  ease  with  which  one  person, 
by  the  application  of  sympathetic  common  sense, 
may  help  another  to  establish  forgotten  links  be- 
tween past  cause  and  present  effect: 

A.  "I  wanted  to  remember  a  girl's  name  this 
morning  and  it's  only  just  come  back  to  me.  I  re- 
membered it  began  with  an  A  and  had  three  syl- 


112  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

lables.  It  was  the  name  of  a  book  I  wanted,  and 
now  I've  got  it.  It's  'Allegra.'  I  wondered  why 
I  shouldn't  have  remembered  it  at  once." 

B.  "Whom  have  you  ever  known  of  that  name?" 

A.  "No  one." 

B.  "tWhat  cause  might  you  have  for  disliking 
it?" 

A.  "None.     I  rather  like  the  name." 

B.  "Did  you  like  the  book?" 

A.  "Yes." 

B.  "You  must  have  some  unpleasant  connection 
with  the  name.     What  else,  what  first  does  Allegra 
now  suggest  to  your  mind  ?" 

A.  "Only  some  lines  of  Longfellow: 

'Grave  Alice  and  laughing  Allegra 
And  Edith  with  golden  hair.' " 

B.  "Now  we  are  getting  at  it.     What  unpleasant 
associations  have  you  with  those  lines?" 

A.  "None,  I  rather  like  them." 

B.  "When  did  you  last  hear  or  read  them?" 

A.  "I  don't  know." 

B.  "When  did  you  first  hear  them?" 

A.  "Oh,  ages  ago,  when  I  was  quite  young" — 
(then  suddenly) — "I  remember;  for  a  long  time 
they  used  to  keep  running  in  my  head  and  were  a 


Christianity  and  Psycho- Analysis  1 13 

nuisance.  I  had  difficulty  in  stopping  them,  and  in 
making  myself  forget  them." 

The  lines  were  deliberately  dissociated  and  re- 
pressed. Later  what  some  psychologists  call  the 
censor  or  sentinel  forbad  that  memory  "Allegra" 
to  pass  from  the  sub-conscious  to  the  conscious, 
and  that  is  why  the  book  of  the  same  name  was  not 
easily  recalled.  This  incident  seems  trivial  enough, 
and  so  it  is,  but  it  illustrates  fairly  and  accurately 
a  law  of  the  mind.  Though  much  discoverable  in 
such  a  way  is  accessible  only  to  those  who  practise 
psycho-analysis  proper,  the  general  method,  as 
shown  above,  can  be  employed  to  advantage  by  any 
man  in  self -analysis,  or  often  more  profitably  by 
someone  else  for  him. 

In  the  example  quoted  above  the  analysis  was  de- 
liberate; the  person  was  helped  in  his  search  for 
the  links  of  thought  that  were  missing.  A  less 
•deliberate  method  of  recovering  lost  connections  is 
recommended  by  some  psychologists,  and  it  is  called 
"Free  Association."  By  this  method  I  should  not 
try  and  trace  back  one  idea  from  another  step  by 
step,  but  more  or  less  relaxing  my  attention,  should 
repeat  to  myself  one  of  the  link  words  or  let  my 
imagination  play  on  the  link-idea ;  many  other  words 
or  pictures  will  then  pass  through  the  mind,  and  one 
of  those,  perhaps  the  one  which  at  its  first  appear- 
ance seems  most  irrelevant,  will  supply  me  with  the 


114  Psychology  an(^  ^he  Christian  Life 

clue.  Some  people  have  so  practised  this  free-as- 
sociation leading  to  self-knowledge,  that  they  have 
acquired  a  habit  of  it.  Spontaneously  a  man  will 
himself  the  question,  "Where  have  I  met  that  man 
before,  or  someone  like  him?"  or,  "Why  should 
walking  down  this  particular  street  give  me  an  in- 
definable sense  of  discomfort  or  oppression?"  A 
day,  or  even  just  an  hour,  later  he  has  found  the 
links  and  fitted  them  together,  without  much  effort 
or  conscious  intention,  because  he  has  been  in  the 
habit  of  closely  associating  his  ideas  and  his  memor- 
ies and  of  seeking  associations  where  they  are  not 
at  first  obvious. 

Before  leaving  the  subject  of  moral  guilt  and  re- 
pression in  general,  it  is  well  to  note  two  factors 
which  loom  large  in  human  life,  namely  fear  and 
worry.  Worry  is  the  popular  name  by  which  could 
be  described  the  conscious  effects  of  most  internal 
conflicts  or  repressions.  Irritability  and  fatigue, 
restlessness,  sleeplessness,  minor  obsessions  are 
often  attributable  to  what  is  called  worrying. 
Worry  of  all  kinds  cramps  a  man's  style  and  dim- 
inishes his  power.  As  Dr.  William  Brown  points 
out  in  "Psychology  and  Psychotherapy"  l  the  main- 
tenance of  the  censor  by  the  sub-conscious  mind  in 
any  serious  repression  constitutes  a  drain  on  power ; 
to  maintain  a  repression,  even  unconsciously,  involves 
1  Arnold,  1921. 


Christianity  and  Psycho- Analysis 

the  diversion  of  energy  for  that  purpose — energy 
which  might  be  applied  usefully  and  positively  else- 
where. The  worst  form  of  worry  to  endure  and 
to  relieve  and,  therefore,  the  greatest  drain  on 
energy  is  that  which  is  due  wholly  or  in  part  to  a 
sense  of  moral  guilt,  or  the  stifling  of  the  moral 
conscience.  I  know  of  no  adequate  remedy  that 
psychologists  advance  for  the  cure  of  worry  that 
arises  from  remorse,  nor  is  there  any  remedy  ex- 
cept that  provided  in  a  doctrine  of  forgiveness. 
For  other  worry,  once  the  original  cause  has  been 
discovered,  and  salutary  counter-suggestion  estab- 
lished, doctors  frequently  recommend  "something 
that  will  take  you  out  of  yourself."  As  Head  of 
a  Settlement  engaged  in  a  variety  of  social,  educa- 
tional, and  religious  activities  I  have  often  been 
asked  to  recommend  a  form  of  such  occupation  for 
men  who  have  just  finished  a  course  of  psycho- 
analytic treatment.  Indeed,  the  patients  and  their 
doctors  seem  to  regard  it  almost  as  a  moral  question. 
The  work  must  be  "something  unselfish,"  something 
that  will  do  good  "to  someone  else."  Thus  again, 
admitting  it  or  not,  do  the  latest  scientific  healers 
of  the  mind  turn  to  one  of  the  oldest  Christian 
remedies  for  worry. 

And  as  to  fear,  it  is  ranked  by  some  psychologists 
as  a  primary  instinct,  so  universal  and  inevitable  is 
it  in  human  nature.  Here  we  find  ourselves  back 


ii6  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

where  we  started  out  in  our  examination  of  the 
Christian  way  of  life.  Faith  is  ultimately  the  only 
remedy  for  fear.  We  admit  that  some  of  the 
gravest  mental  disorders  have  been  aggravated  by 
fear  of  punishment  for  sin,  fear  religiously  inspired, 
selfish  fear;  but  it  is  doubtful  whether  such  fear 
has  in  itself  ever  been  the  prime  cause  of  mental 
disorders.  On  the  other  hand  often,  even  when  the 
worst  horrors  of  fear  and  of  the  fear  of  fear  have 
been  removed  through  psycho-analysis  with  its 
frank  discussion  and  healthy  suggestiveness,  no  per- 
manent remedy  for  fear  in  life  remains  but  faith, 
faith  in  a  God  Who  loves  and  will  forgive,  Who 
loves  and  will  protect,  Whose  everlasting  arms  are 
underneath.  Christians  learn  that  love  and  derive 
that  faith  from  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  and  to  His  ex- 
ample and  teaching  we  will  now  turn.  We  have 
tried  to  see  how  faith  might  still  work  wonders, 
when  first  self-examination,  penitence,  forgiveness, 
have  brought  relief ;  how  freedom  from  worry  and 
fear  would  release  our  own  energies  and  make  avail* 
able  more  fully  the  driving-power  of  God  Himself. 
I  have  tried  to  show  how  a  sane  and  sensible  atten- 
tion to  the  results  of  psychological  research  can 
help  and  not  hinder  our  moral  anad  religious  life. 
And  I  believe  that  this  connection  can  be  further 
established  by  a  reverent  study  of  the  psychology  of 
our  Lord. 


Chapter  VI :  The  Psychology 
of  Jesus — His  Teaching 

In  considering  the  life  and  example  of  Jesus  we 
shall  follow  the  general  line  pursued  in  this  book  so 
far.  For  instance,  the  question  of  Christ's  Divinity 
and  the  value  (or  not)  of  His  example  to  ordinary 
men  by  reason  of  that  Divinity  will  not  be  fully  dis- 
cussed. Existing  theological  literature  deals  suffi- 
ciently with  that  subject.  Again,  no  attempt  will 
be  made  to  distinguish  strictly  the  supernatural  in 
His  life  from  what  is  psychologically  possible  for 
ordinary  men.  The  chief  "miracle"  in  the  life  of 
Jesus  for  which  I  stand  and  from  which  I  approach 
the  present  study  of  His  life,  is  His  complete  sin- 
lessness.  That,  if  accepted  as  true,  must  always 
be  the  greatest  miracle,  the  final  test  of  His  Divinity. 
In  the  light  of  it  much  else  in  His  life,  including 
many  other  miracles,  can  be  psychologically  under- 
stood and  even,  in  certain  cases,  explained. 

What  then,  psychologically  considered,  does  such 

sinlessness  imply  ?     Any  man  who  has  never  sinned, 

any  man  who  is  perfect  (let  us  consider  this  for  a 

moment  as  a  human  possibility)  has  been  brought 

117 


u8  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

through  childhood  with  consummate  tenderness 
and  wisdom.  That  is  the  first  thing.  The  Spirit 
of  God  flowing  through  the  heart  and  mind  of  the 
perfect  child  is  hindered  by  no  unwise  suggestion 
coming  from  the  best  of  mothers.  Wrong  sug- 
gestions from  other  lips  there  must  needs  be,  and 
the  miracle  of  Christ's  sinlessness  is  in  part  this, 
that  the  Holy  Spirit  robbed  such  suggestions  of 
their  power  to  injure  Him  in  infancy  and  earliest 
years.  But,  short  of  superstitious  adoration,  no 
reverence  of  the  Mother  of  Jesus  can  be  too  great; 
specially  chosen  not  only  to  bring  to  birth  the  Son 
of  God,  but  to  form  His  mind  and  order  His  en- 
vironment at  the  most  impressionable  time  of  His 
life — blessed  indeed  among  women! 

If  we  further  consider  sinlessness  in  a  man,  we 
shall  notice,  in  view  of  what  has  been  said  in 
previous  chapters,  that  entire  control  of  the  instinct- 
ive impulses  is  implied.  No  primary  instinct  is  al- 
lowed to  exercise  its  energies  wrongly;  yet  the  en- 
ergy of  no  instinct  is  blocked;  it  is  redirected  and 
used.  No  sin  means  no  waste  of  energy.  The  in- 
stinctive powers  exercised  through  mind  and  body 
are  unimpaired.  Our  imagination  can  barely  grasp 
the  driving-force  of  such  a  human  personality,  un- 
marred  by  the  wastefulness  of  sin;  that  power  of 
mind  and  will  was  at  the  disposal  of  Jesus  and  was 
shown  forth  in  His  life.  There  was  no  sense  of 


Psychology  of  Jesus — His  Teaching  119 

moral  guilt,  no  burden  of  past  sin  and  bitter  mem- 
ories. "Why  callest  thou  me  good?"  was  the  re- 
buke to  the  formalist  and  the  flatterer.  "There  is 
none  good  save  one"  was  not  a  confession  of  sin; 
nor  did  any  other  proceed  from  His  lips.  Those 
whose  consciousness  of  power  is  impaired  by  sense 
of  sin  fulness  and  failure  can  form  some  idea  of  the 
latent  forces  available  for  one  who  knew  no  moral 
failure  and  no  need  of  forgiveness,  whose  inner  life 
was  not  a  conflict  but  a  harmony,  who  was  at  one 
with  God. 

Yet  Jesus  was  tempted,  and  tempted  as  we  all  are 
through  the  great  instincts  inherent  in  His  human 
nature.  The  temptation  in  the  wilderness  has  al- 
ways been  taken,  not  only  as  an  actual  experience 
during  a  particular  and  stated  period  of  days,  but 
as  typical  of  the  kind  of  temptation  to  which  Jesus 
was  liable  as  man.  "Command  that  these  stones  be 
made  bread" — He  was  tempted  through  the  other 
natural  appetites  of  the  body,  as  in  this  instance 
through  hunger.  "Cast  Thyself  down" — He  was 
tempted  to  self -aggrandisement,  to  the  ambition  of 
a  leadership  to  be  cheaply  and  popularly  acquired. 
"Fall  down  and  worship  me" — He  was  tempted  to 
exercise  His  social  instinct  wrongly,  to  win  the  king- 
doms of  the  world  for  God  in  some  manner  ob- 
viously contrary  to  God's  will  and  involving  a  de- 


12O  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

nial  of  God's  supremacy.1  When  Peter  or  others 
tempted  Him,  in  any  other  trial  of  the  soul  that  you 
can  trace  in  the  account  of  His  life,  you  will  find 
the  temptation  coming  through  one  or  other  of  the 
primary  instincts,  as  we  have  seen  that  all  tempta- 
tion comes.  Further  He  met  temptation  at  its  first 
charge.  He  challenged  the  weakening  or  sinful 
suggestion  at  its  first  entry  to  His  mind.  This  is 
actually  recorded  of  Him  in  one  or  two  incidents 
of  His  life;  a  word  was  spoken  lacking  true  faith 
or  anticipating  failure  or  meeting  trouble  half  way, 
and  He  put  the  suggestion  from  Him  and  paid  no 
heed  to  it.  The  method  of  His  thought  in  face  of 
such  temptation  is  exactly  illustrated  in  the  twelfth 
chapter  of  St.  John's  Gospel.2  Dr.  James  Moffat's 
translation  gives  it  most  clearly:  "My  soul  is  now 
disquieted.  What  am  I  to  say?"  In  the  first  sen- 
tence, probably  a  quotation  from  His  Scriptures, 
Jesus  gives  expression  to  a  sense  of  foreboding  or 

1  The  above  summary  of  the  temptation  in  the  wilderness  is 
obviously  incomplete.  When  referring  to  this  or  any  other 
incident  in  the  New  Testament  I  do  not  mean  to  imply  that  the 
slight  treatment  and  brief  comments  given  in  this  book  are  in 
the  least  degree  adequate  to  their  subjects.  In  the  present 
instance  I  am  concerned  just  to  illustrate,  what  I  truly  believe, 
that  the  temptation  in  the  wilderness  was  an  indication  of  the 
fact  that  our  Lord  was  subjected  to  temptation  through  all 
three  primary  instincts.  "In  all  points  tempted  like  as  we 
are.  yet  without  sin,"  He  could  be  and  was  tempted  even  to 
ambition  in  the  less  worthy  use  of  that  word.  On  "Ambition" 
see  p.  89, 

1  "A  new  translation  of  the  New  Testament" — Hodder  and 
Stoughton. 


Psychology  of  Jesus — His  Teaching  121 

depression;  this  idea  is  in  the  second  sentence  im- 
mediately challenged;  it  is  not  allowed  to  become 
part  of  Himself.  "What  am  I  to  say?"  "Father 
save  me  from  this  hour?"  i.e.,  "Shall  I  say — Father 
save  me?"  "Shall  I  in  so  doing  regard  the  prospect 
as  unbearable?  Shall  I  contemplate  the  future  as 
something  that  I  have  not  the  strength  to  endure?" 
And  then  He  gives  His  answer,  thereby  fixing  His 
mind  and  will  in  the  right  direction:  "Nay,  it  is 
something  else  that  has  brought  me  to  this  hour.  I 
will  say,  'Father  glorify  thy  name.'  "  He  rejects 
His  ovyn  disquietude  as  a  dominant  idea  in  His  mind 
and  puts  in  its  place  the  thought  of  the  majesty  and 
power  of  God  the  Father. 

The  next  thing  to  notice  in  the  life  of  Jesus,  and 
it  is  remarkably  significant,  is  the  apparent  effort- 
lessness of  His  life.  I  am  not  seeking  corrobora- 
tion  for  what  has  been  said  in  this  book  about  the 
relation  of  faith  to  effort;  the  facts  do  not  require 
special  pleading.  The  relation  of  faith  to  effort 
in  the  life  of  Jesus  has  always  been  obvious  and  ap- 
pears on  every  page  of  the  Gospel,  and  men  have 
thought  that  they  could  not  live  His  way.  We  have 
perhaps  explained  things  away  by  saying,  "His  faith 
was  greater ;  He  was  the  Son  of  God.  I  am  called 
on  to  make  efforts  which  faith  rendered  unneces- 
sary for  Him."  This  represents  an  attempt,  with 
which  we  cannot  now  compete,  to  lessen  the  value 


1 22  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

of  Jesus'  example  on  the  grounds  of  His  Divinity; 
we  need  not  so  readily  seek  that  refuge  from  our 
own  failures.  His  way  can  be  and  should  be  our 
way. 

We  know  that  Jesus  agonized  in  prayer;  we  can 
see  that  again  and  again  the  outward  circumstances 
of  His  earthly  life  demanded  deliberate  endurance, 
the  conscious  exercise  of  great  will-power,  continu- 
ous efforts  against  evil  in  the  world.  But,  how- 
ever much  be  made  of  such  admissions,  it  remains 
equally  clear  that  the  normal  experience  of  His  mind 
and  soul  was  not  one  of  effort  and  struggle.  He 
did  not  worry  or  fuss ;  He  was  always  unhurried ; 
He  displayed  the  dignity  of  complete  assurance. 
He  had  no  doubts  or  the  distraction  that  doubts 
bring  with  Ithem.  When  weakening  suggestions 
were  made  to  Him  He  did  not  accept  them.  His 
attitude  to  the  whole  of  life  was  calm  and  confident 
and  could  be  summed  up  in  the  words,  "I  can  be- 
cause God  can."  This  was  the  faith  of  Jesus,  and 
it  bears  small  resemblance  to  the  Christian's  faith 
with  its  minimum  of  convinced  belief  in  the  effective 
power  of  God  and  its  maximum  of  self-dependent 
and  self-conscious  effort.  If  ever  a  state  of  mind 
could  be  fairly  deduced  from  a  man's  behaviour, 
then  this  deduction  about  the  mind  of  Jesus  can  be 
made  from  His  behaviour  as  described  to  us. 

This  is  further  shown  by  His  actual  teaching  and 


Psychology  of  Jesus — His  Teaching  123 

the  method  He  prescribed  for  other  men.  The  em- 
phasis laid  by  many  people  on  all  the  miracles  of 
Jesus  as  proofs  of  His  Divine  Sonship  is  really  un- 
faithful, though  it  springs  from  reverence.  Jesus 
stated  clearly  and  frequently  that  religious  faith 
could  achieve  wonders  through  any  man.  The  pas- 
sage in  which  above  all  others  He  insists  on  this  is 
in  the  eleventh  chapter  of  St.  Mark's  Gospel,  where 
the  apparently  impossible  result  of  such  faith  is 
compared  to  the  removal  of  a  mountain.  It  is  fol- 
lowed by  the  remarkable  words  (R.V.)  :  "All  things 
whatsoever  ye  pray  and  ask  for,  believe  that  ye  have 
received  them  and  ye  shall  have  them."  In  the 
training  of  personal  character  and  the  formation  of 
habit  this  is  exactly  the  attitude  of  mind  already 
recommended  after  detailed  explanation  in  the 
second  chapter  of  this  book.  For  instance,  "I  have 
prayed  for  strength  to  take  me  through  this  day's 
work  without  undue  fatigue.  I  have  already  re- 
ceived that  strength.  I  shall  do  more  than  before 
I  prayed  seemed  possibTe.  It  will  not  tire  me  un- 
duly. With  God's  help  I  can  do  it  easily.  With 
Him  all  things  are  possible.  I  have  nothing  what- 
ever to  worry  about."  Such  a  point  of  view  goes 
far  towards  ensuring  success.  The  psychological 
explanation  of  its  success  in  the  treatment  of  fatigue 
is  shown  clearly  in  "Mind  and  Work,"  where  along 
lines  we  have  already  considered  Mr.  Myers  estab- 


124  Psychology  an<^  ^e  Christian  Life 

lishes  the  fact  that  a  great  deal  of  fatigue  of  all 
kinds  starts  in  the  mind.1  In  the  realm  of  the  per- 
sonal life  at  any  rate  Jesus  was  recommending  an 
attitude  of  mind  which  has  been  proved  effective 
and  according  to  natural  law;  in  the  illustration 
given  above  we  can  and  should  frankly  recognize 
so  much  of  the  method  of  that  law's  working.  It 
does  not  diminish,  but  should  increase  our  rever- 
ence for  One  who  two  thousand  years  ago  not 
merely  recommended  that  attitude  of  mind,  but 
demonstrated  its  effectiveness  in  the  character  which 
He  exhibited  to  men.  Nor,  as  we  have  seen  already, 
is  this  to  reduce  religious  faith  to  a  mere  mechani- 
cal process,  however  wonderful;  there  remains  the 
power  of  God,  available  through  the  mechanism  of 
nature,  but  at  the  disposal  of  God  Himself,  bound 
by  no  law  save  that  laid  on  men  that  they  seek  Him 
in  prayer  and  trust  Him.  "You  shall  receive — 
yes,  but  you  should  ask,  and  ask  believing  that  you 
have  received.  You  shall  find, — yes,  but  you  must 
seek.  The  door  of  God's  powerhouse  shall  be 
opened  to  you — yes,  but  you  must  knock."  That  is 
His  law  for  men. 

Striking  as  are  those  words  in  St.  Mark,  they  are 
characteristic  of  the  whole  of  Jesus'  teaching.     In- 
deed, such  is  the  reiteration  of  the  words  "Faith" 
and  "Believe"  that  we  allow  them  to  pass  almost  un- 
1  This  is  also  shown  in  Dr.  Hadfield's  essay  in  'The  Spirit." 


Psychology  of  Jesus — His  Teaching  125 

noticed.  We  have  heard  them  read  so  constantly 
in  Church  or  Chapel  that  they  cease  to  have  any  vital 
significance  for  us.  Yet  they  figure  in  the  message 
of  Jesus  as  second  not  even  to  His  teaching  on  love. 
He  seemed  surprised  at  the  continual  failure  of  His 
disciples  to  appreciate  what  could  be  achieved 
through  faith:  "Why  are  ye  so  fearful?  Where- 
fore didst  thou  doubt?  Only  believe;  it's  quite 
simple.  Just  trust  in  God.  Let  not  your  heart  be 
troubled.  Your  cure  is  no  marvel ;  your  own  faith 
has  done  it.  Don't  you  yet  understand?  Don't 
you  remember  what  faith  achieved  only  the  other 
day?  All  things  are  possible  to  him  that  believes. 
[Where  is  your  faith?  Don't  be  so  anxious  and 
don't  be  of  doubtful  mind.  Fear  not,  little  flock. 
Increase  your  faith.  You  ought  always  to  pray 
and  not  to  faint.  Don't  worry.  Come  unto  Me 
and  I  will  give  you  rest,  and  you  shall  find  rest  unto 
your  souls."  The  question  we  must  ask  ourselves, 
and  it  is  fundamentally  important,  is  this:  "Was 
that  teaching  of  Jesus  about  faith  and  fear  simply 
so  much  talk  ?  Is  it  or  is  it  not  relevant  to  Christ- 
ian practice  in  the  twentieth  century?  Can  men 
who  profess  and  call  themselves  Christians  continue 
to  use  so  little  that  which  Jesus  used  so  much?" 

The  teaching  of  Jesus  on  the  prayer  of  faith  can- 
not be  properly  understood  without  reference  to  one 
further  condition  laid  down  by  Him  for  its  success- 


126  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

ful  undertaking :  "When  ye  stand  praying,  forgive." 
The  Church  of  Christ  in  its  exhortations  and  cate- 
chisms and  other  formularies  has  always  under- 
lined this  command;  in  order  that  faith  may  exer- 
cise its  power  in  a  man's  life  he  must  repent  of  sin 
and  seek  forgiveness,  and  he  must  also  be  in  charity 
with  all  men.  If  he  has  not  himself  forgiven,  he 
cannot  claim  forgiveness  from  God  for  himself;  if 
he  has  not  forgiven  he  cannot  expect  to  pray  effec- 
tively. We  accept  this  as  a  command  of  the  first  im- 
portance, as  an  essential  part  of  the  Gospel  of  love; 
it  seems  natural  and  right  that  Jesus,  the  great  for- 
giver,  should  demand  in  us  the  forgiving  spirit.  It 
is  a  Christian  duty,  but  it  is  also  psychologically 
necessary.  Of  the  internal  conflicts  which  dissi- 
pate men's  energies  and  inhibit  the  power  of  their 
wills  malice  is  one  of  the  most  serious.  I  would  ap- 
peal here  directly  to  the  experience  of  the  reader. 
Has  anything  else  such  power  to  distract  your 
thoughts  and  hinder  concentration  as  a  rankling 
sense  of  injury?  Hate  and  revenge  are  huge  ab- 
sorbents of  mental  and  nervous  energy.1 

If  a  grudge  is  harboured  against  someone  else, 
prayer  for  my  own  forgiveness  must  be  insincere; 
I  am  shutting  off  a  sphere  of  my  mind's  activities 

1  If  they  reign  supreme  their  impulse  will,  of  course,  produce 
feats  of  mental  ingenuity  and  physical  endurance;  but  such  a 
condition,  confessedly  pagan,  is  from  the  Christian  standpoint 
a  misapplication  of  energy. 


Psychology  of  Jesus — His  Teaching  127 

from  the  presence  of  God,  and  am  maintaining  a 
reserve  in  my  life.  Such  a  habit  of  reserve  may 
have  gone  so  far  that  the  sense  of  injury,  the  desire 
for  revenge  has  been  entirely  dissociated  and  repres- 
sed. I  have  so  practised  the  art  of  "forgetting"  the 
injury,  of  disregarding  the  fact  that  I  have  never 
forgiven  it,  that  I  do  not  realize  that  anything 
stands  between  me  and  God;  yet  I  wonder  why  my 
faith  is  often  weak  and  also  my  sense  of  commun- 
ion with  Him.  The  conflict  has  never  been  re- 
solved; the  decision  has  been  shirked  and  the  con- 
flict itself  dismissed  from  the  mind,  but  the  channel 
for  the  full  activity  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  me  is 
blocked  by  it.  So,  too,  apart  from  any  such  re- 
ligious question,  are  the  energies  of  my  whole  per- 
sonality hampered  by  this  repression;  I  am  not  at 
harmony.  It  should  not  be  difficult  for  most  people 
by  careful  self-examination  to  rediscover  the  now 
forgotten  injury  which  has  never  been  forgiven  and 
to  face  it  out. 

It  is  as  difficult  to  describe  and  define  an  act  of 
human  forgiveness  as  to  explain  the  conviction  of 
divine  forgiveness.  People  often  talk  much  too 
glibly  about  Christian  forgiveness.  A  real  injury 
is  not  easy  to  forgive;  it  takes  time.  This  is  no 
excuse  for  nursing  a  sense  of  injury,  but  it  should 
be  remembered  by  those  (and  they  are  many)  who 


128  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

have  never  had  anything  serious  to  forgive,  and  who 
preach  forgiveness  glibly  to  others  who  have  suffer- 
ed much.  Only  an  indication  can  here  be  given 
of  the  method  of  forgiveness :  a  man  must  first  re- 
cognize that  the  act  is  past ;  to  nurse  the  grievance, 
as  to  nurse  any  long-past  sorrow,  is  foolish,  un- 
economic, a  wasteful  expenditure  of  energy  needed 
elsewhere.  The  act  must  be  accepted ;  it  cannot  be 
avoided;  it  is  done.  To  dwell  on  it  is  simply  to 
magnify  the  sufferisg  caused  by  the  injury  out  of 
proportion  to  its  original  significance.  Next,  al- 
lowances should  be  made  for  the  person  against 
whom  the  grievance  is  felt;  this  is  not  impossible. 
"Judge  not;  be  merciful;  condemn  not;  do  unto 
others  as  you  would  that  they  should  do  unto  you." 
Self-examination  will  reveal  many  acts  of  one's  own 
that  might  seem  to  others  unforgivable,  yet  which 
do  not  (from  one's  own  point  of  view)  deserve  con- 
tinual malice.  We  know  perfectly  well  that  the 
people  who  hate  us  or  bear  us  malice  would  be  more 
charitably  disposed  to  us  if  they  really  understood. 
In  our  time,  most  of  us  are  intensely  disliked  and 
are  blamed  for  acts  thoughtlessly  committed  or 
words  carelessly  spoken.  The  unforgiving  spirit 
of  undying  hate  is  a  very  severe  penalty  for  us  to 
bear  for  any  injury  we  have  ever  done  to  any  man ; 
then  why  inflict  it  on  another?  More  than  this,  we 


Psychology  of  Jesus — His  Teaching  129 

must  accept  the  injury  in  the  spirit  of  Jesus  Him- 
self ;  we  must  seek  to  turn  an  injury  done  to  us  into 
a  sacrifice  voluntarily  accepted  for  the  love  we  would 
bear  to  all  men.  Jesus  so  accepted  the  Cross,  and  so 
He  still  accepts  the  injuries  we  do  Him. 

This  is  not  easy,  and  I  do  not  wish  to  pretend 
that  it  is.  Its  application  may  in  extreme  cases  de- 
pend on  the  desire  of  the  offender  to  be  forgiven  or 
on  his  recognition  that  he  has  done  something  that 
requires  our  forgiveness.  About  that  only  one 
thing  shall  be  said :  just  as  God's  readiness  to  for- 
give us,  the  sacrifices  Jesus  made  to  assure  us  that 
forgiveness  is  waiting  for  us,  predisposes  us  to  need 
it,  seek  it  and  claim  it,  so  a  man's  forgiving  spirit 
will  actually  affect  the  man  who  has  offended  him. 
This  cannot  be  wholly  explained  in  terms  of  psy- 
chology, but  it  is  true.  It  is  clearly  established 
that  we  can  affect  the  minds  and  thoughts  of  other 
people  by  our  own,  though  exactly  how  we  do  so  is 
not  certain.  It  may  happen  like  this :  by  some  word 
or  action  or  some  line  of  conduct  in  another  man  I 
am  provoked  into  hostility ;  spontaneously  I  make  to 
myself  the  suggestion  that  "I  dislike  him,"  "I  will 
get  even  with  him."  The  more  acutely  I  have  been 
injured,  the  more  deliberately  and  insistently  do  I 
make  this  sort  of  suggestion  to  myself.  But  if  I 
make  it  only  once  and  do  not  deliberately  reject  it. 


130  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

it  will  work  powerfully  in  me.  An  act  of  forgive- 
ness would  involve  a  complete  change  of  mind  and 
the  setting  up  of  an  equally  strong  counter-sug- 
gestion. Until  I  do  this  I  am,  much  more  than  I 
realize,  the  victim  of  the  bad  suggestion  I  have  made 
to  myself ;  later  I  may  forcibly  dissociate  the  whole 
incident  and  decide  to  forget  it,  but  the  bad  sug- 
gestion will  continue  transforming  itself  into  action. 
My  dislike  of  the  man  will  be  obvious  to  observant 
friends  of  mine  long  after  I  have  ceased  to  be  con- 
scious of  it.  My  original  prejudice,  still  jealously 
developed  in  my  sub-conscious  mind,  will  affect  de- 
cisions that  I  make  about  any  dealings  with  which 
the  man  is  remotely  connected ;  it  may  even  influence 
me  in  such  trivial  matters  as  refusing  or  accepting 
invitations,  or  in  my  words  and  in  my  behaviour 
down  to  the  smallest  details.  The  effect  on  the 
man  himself  will  be  quite  definite.  I  have  never 
checked  the  original  suggestion  made  to  myself  that 
only  evil  is  to  be  expected  of  him  and  that  expecta- 
tion will  produce  the  worst  from  him.  He  will 
start  disliking  me  even  if  he  did  not  dislike  me  al- 
ready; he  will  read  into  my  conduct  offences  that 
were  never  deliberately  meant.  He  will  become 
less  and  less  likely  to  regret  the  original  harm  he 
did  me,  and  may  even  regard  himself  as  the  injured 
person.  The  hostility  is  mutual.  How  far  this 


Psychology  of  Jesus — His  Teaching  131 

interaction  of  mind  on  mind  can  be  explained  is 
not  clear,  but  I  have  often  tested  its  truth.1 

The  right  development  of  the  forgiving  spirit  can 
be  tested  and  assisted  by  the  performance  of  some 
kindness  for  the  offender  at  some  sacrifice  to  one- 
self ;  the  kindness  and  sacrifice  need  never  be  known ; 
they  would  not  be  performed  in  order  to  curry 
favour,  but  it  is  true  that  to  try  to  serve  someone  is 
to  begin  to  love  him.  There  is  a  real  psychological 
as  well  as  a  moral  value  in  the  command  of  Jesus : 
"Pray  for  them  which  despitefully  use  you."  Thus 
we  return  to  His  teaching  which  many  of  us  have 
always  accepted  on  His  word  alone  in  our  anxiety 
to  be  like  Him.  This  digression  on  forgiveness  is, 
however,  useful  as  helping  further  to  show  (be  it 
said  with  all  reverence)  the  practical  common  sense 
of  His  teaching.  We  ought  to  try  to  understand 
why  the  greatest  expert  in  human  nature  insisted  on 
complete  charity  as  an  absolute  necessity  in  those 
who  would  pray  effectively  and  in  the  strength  of 
that  prayer  remove  mountains. 

1  Constantly  when  with  a  number  of  people  I  have  noticed 
someone  I  knew  well  to  be  talking  or  behaving  in  a  silly  or 
disagreeable  way,  so  unlike  himself  as  to  attract  my  special 
notice;  and  I  have  felt  certain  that  the  worst  in  him  was 
being  "drawn  out"  by  someone  else  present.  Then  I  have 
discovered  later  that  someone  had  been  in  the  room  whom  he 
intensely  disliked  or  who  intensely  disliked  him.  I  cannot 
prove  this  explanation,  and  I  admit  that  there  might  be  a 
variety  of  other  causes  of  the  behaviour  I  noticed.  Even  so, 
I  maintain  that  such  examples  can  be  fairly  quoted  of  the 
creative  power  of  love  and  forgiveness  and  the  degrading  and 
destructive  effects  of  man's  hatred  on  other  people. 


132  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

Another  thing  upon  which  He  insisted  was  single- 
mindedness.  His  teaching  as  recorded  in  St. 
Matthew  vi.  24,  is  the  shortest  and  almost  com- 
pletest  summary  of  all  the  psychological  advice  we 
have  been  considering — "No  man  can  serve  two 
masters."  Internal  discord,  lack  of  harmony,  di- 
vided interest — these  are  the  enemies  of  power ;  and 
this  is  true,  no  matter  what  be  the  character  of  the 
dispute.  Most  fatal  of  all  to  power  is  the  contest  in 
a  man's  soul  between  the  rival  claims  of  God  and 
Mammon.  Bishop  Paget,  of  Oxford  gave  psy- 
chological point  to  this  truth  in  "The  Spirit  of  Disci- 
pline" :*  "Surely  half-heartedness,  wavering  and 
faltering  faith,  or  love  or  purpose,  the  hopeless  toil 
of  living  two  lives — this  is  one  chief  source,  at  least, 
of  much  of  the  unhappiness  and  unrest,  the  weari- 
ness and  overstrain  and  breaking-down  in  modern 
life."  Or  again,  as  the  same  thought  was  expressed 
by  a  great  French  teacher,  "Do  you  know  what  it  is 
which  makes  man  the  most  suffering  of  all  crea- 
tures? It  is  that  he  has  one  foot  in  the  finite  and 
the  other  in  the  infinite,  and  that  he  is  torn  between 
two  worlds."  Those  who  profess  and  call  them- 
selves Christians  are  often  accused,  if  not  to  their 
face,  then  freely  behind  their  backs,  of  gloominess; 
this  appearance  is  variously  explained.  It  is 
thought,  naturally  enough,  that  to  follow  the  way  of 
1  Longmans. 


Psychology  of  Jesus — His  Teaching  133 

the  Cross  is  a  gloomy  business ;  or  that  fear  of  fu- 
ture damnation  weighs  heavily  on  believers ;  or  that 
their  religion  consists  entirely  of  denying  themselves 
what  they  want  to  do.  In  rebutting  the  charge  by 
asserting  that  the  service  of  Christ  is  the  greatest 
joy,  we  need  to  remember  that  this  can  only  be 
true  of  whole-hearted  service.  It  is  not  easy  or, 
perhaps,  possible  to  contradict  with  any  conviction 
the  man  who  says,  "I'm  much  happier  without  re- 
ligion." He  probably  is;  that  is  to  say  he  is  likely 
to  be  considerably  happier  than  the  man  who  for 
ever  halts  between  two  opinions — with  one  eye  on 
this  world,  one  eye  looking  for  the  next,  part  of 
his  life  given  to  God,  part  of  it  withheld,  backing 
two  horses  at  once  and  never  knowing  quite  which 
he  wants  to  win.  This  is  a  condition  of  heart  not 
peculiar  to  hypocrites,  but  common  to  many  sin- 
cerely professing  Christians,  who  do  not  realize  that 
they  are  trying  to  serve  two  masters.  They  may 
think  themselves  happy  enough,  but  the  claim  of  the 
blatant  pleasure-seeker  to  be  more  free  from  worry 
and  to  be  having  a  better  time  altogether  is  probably 
true.  At  any  rate  he  is  more  effective  in  his  life's 
purpose  (because  he  gives  to  that  occupation  all  his 
energies),  than  the  man  of  divided  interest  who 
means  to  give  all  to  the  service  of  God  and  then 
withholds  all  that  he  thinks  he  decently  can.  In- 
deed the  advice  of  Jesus  in  this  matter  coincides  yet 


134  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

again  with  what  many  modern  psychologists  de- 
clare. They  lay  great  emphasis,  as  we  have  noticed, 
on  the  need  of  internal  harmony,  and  to  secure  this 
they  urge  the  necessity  of  a  unifying  purpose  in  life, 
some  idea  that  shall  be  so  largely  conceived,  so  in- 
clusive, so  dominant  that  it  will  steady  and  absorb  a 
man.  Constantly  and  in  varying  language,  in  meta- 
phors or  parables,  the  evangelists  and  St.  Paul 
record  the  claim  of  Jesus  to  have  provided,  and  of 
the  early  Christians  to  have  found,  such  a  dominant 
motive  for  the  conduct  of  human  life.  We  speak  of 
this  motive  to-day  as  the  service  of  the  Kingdom  of 
God,  and  claim  that  the  religion  of  Jesus  which  calls 
us  to  that  service  is  in  this,  as  in  other  respects, 
psychologically  the  only  complete  satisfaction  that 
man  can  find. 


Chapter  VII:  The  Psychology 
of  Jesus — His  Practice 

We  have  in  the  last  chapter  tried  to  understand 
how  in  the  teaching  of  Jesus  we  can  find,  for  ac- 
quiring and  exercising  power  in  life,  practical  re- 
commendations deserving  our  close  attention  even 
apart  from  the  divine  authority  with  which  they 
come  to  us.  He  had  a  faith  in  the  power  of  God, 
and  its  availability  for  Himself  that  was  absolute. 
His  own  energies  were  unfettered  and  unimpaired. 
His  prayer  was  never  impeded  by  uncharitableness 
of  any  kind;  His  faith  was  never  fettered  by  any 
sense  of  moral  guilt.  He  knew  no  fear,  and  was 
free  from  its  inhibitions.  He  was  single-minded. 
We  are  actually  unlike  Him  chiefly  by  reason  of  our 
sin  fulness.  For  this  He  has  directed  us  to  a  double 
remedy;  the  power  of  God  through  faith  can  re- 
direct our  energies  and  enable  us  to  select  good 
habits  in  the  place  of  bad  habits ;  the  forgiveness  of 
God — again  through  faith  in  the  promises  of  Jesus 
— can  free  us  from  the  fetters  of  moral  guilt  and 
the  impotence  that  belongs  to  it.  How  then  did  the 
power  of  God,  working  through  the  personality  of 
135 


136  Psychology  an'd  the  Christian  Life 

the  perfect  Man,  exhibit  itself?  We  shall  try  to 
answer  this  question  too  from  the  standpoint  of 
psychology. 

Some  faith-healers  and  many  psycho-therapists 
use  a  form  of  herd  suggestion  in  working  their 
cures.  The  patient,  who  is  under  treatment,  was 
attracted  originally  by  the  fame  of  the  doctor  or  of 
the  method  employed.  He  makes  his  first  visit 
with  some  expectation,  if  only  slight,  that  he  may 
get  better.  The  doctor  by  sympathetic  yet  firm 
handling  of  the  patient,  and  perhaps  by  what  might 
be  called  dodges,  further  establishes  in  his  mind  the 
beginnings  of  confidence,  and  the  treatment  starts. 
Soon  the  patient,  on  visiting  the  doctor,  will  await 
his  turn  in  the  room  in  which,  or  next  to  which  other 
patients  are  being  treated.  He  will  hear  from  them 
of  the  wonderful  progress  that  they  have  made;  he 
will  actually  see  the  marvellous  effects  of  hetero- 
suggestion  on  some  other  person  .being  treated. 
By  the  time  the  doctor  reaches  him  his  confidence 
has  enormously  increased;  he  is  expecting  to  be 
cured.  Often  he  is  ready  to  believe  that  what  the 
doctor  says  will  happen,  will  actually  Jmppen. 

The  records  of  cures  depending  to  a  large  extent 
on  such  complete  confidence  are  considerable.  A 
man  so  inspired,  who  for  months  before  had  be- 
lieved himself  incapable  and  had  therefore  been 
actually  incapable  of  moving  his  hand  from  the  wrist 


Psychology  of  Jesus — His  Practice  137 

downwards,  will  be  cured  by  degrees  or  at  once. 
At  what  is  the  psychological  moment  of  his  treat- 
ment he  will  be  told,  for  instance,  to  put  his  arm 
on  to  a  table,  on  which  it  will  be  connected  by  wires 
to  some  impressive-looking  apparatus,  which,  so  he 
is  told,  will  discharge  into  his  body  the  healing  cur- 
rents. The  doctor  takes  out  his  watch,  machinery 
is  set  going — "After  ninety  seconds  you  will  feel 
strength  returning  to  your  forefinger  and  at  the  end 
of  two  minutes  you  will  raise  it — (pause).  Now 
you  can  lift  your  forefinger;  lift  it."  And  he  does 
so,  for  the  first  time  for  months.  His  faith  has 
cured  him.  No  currents  that  had  in  themselves  any 
curative  value  passed  into  him;  but  the  apparatus 
was  no  mere  toy ;  it  was  a  scientific  means  of  secur- 
ing in  the  patient  that  attitude  of  mind  that  made 
recovery  possible.  Again  a  psycho-analyst  con- 
vinces a  patient  that  her  continual  buzzings  in  the 
head  are  simply  a  memory  of  an  otherwise  long- 
forgotten  shock  and  that  she  will  in  future  not  be 
bothered  with  them;  nor  is  she. 

It  is  clear  that,  whether  He  needed  to  do  so  or 
not,  Jesus  cured  partly  by  the  same  means.  Very 
early  in  His  ministry  He  acquired  a  great  name. 
Read  St.  Mark's  Gospel  again  and  notice  the  great 
prominence  given  in  that  account  to  crowds. 
Wherever  Jesus  went,  people  flocked  to  Him,  run- 
ning around  the  lakeside  to  catch  Him,  collecting 


138  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

sick  people  on  the  way,  pushing  through  the  crowd 
with  stretchers,  trying  just  to  touch  His  clothes. 
Little  Palestine,  Eastern  enough  to  spread  news 
quicker  than  we  westerners  could  by  word  of  mouth, 
rang  with  His  fame;  roadside  beggars  heard  about 
Him  from  travellers ;  the  cry  was  simply  ,"Jesus  of 
Nazareth  passeth  by" ;  they  knew  well  enough  who 
Jesus  of  Nazareth  was.  The  four  Gospels  leave  no 
doubt  whatever  that  Jesus  soon  became  known  up 
and  down  the  countryside  and  that  as  a  result  of 
His  fame  many  people  "believed  on  Him";  where 
they  did  not,  we  are  told,  He  could  do  no  great 
work  except  for  laying  His  hand  on  and  healing  a 
few  sick  folk.  Very  rarely  can  we  suppose  from 
the  accounts  of  His  ministry  that  He  healed  all  who 
needed  it  in  any  one  crowd  or  in  any  one  place; 
those  who  were  not  healed  were  not  themselves  in 
the  state  of  mind  which  would  put  recovery  within 
their  reach. 

So  much  for  the  atmosphere  in  which  most  of  His 
cures  were  effected.  Now  let  us  turn  to  the  method 
of  Jesus  with  individuals.  In  connection  with  al- 
most all  the  healing-works  of  Jesus  little  preliminary 
conversations  are  recorded.  I  take  the  intention  of 
these  to  have  been  not  to  test  faith  but  rather  to 
stimulate,  steady,  focus  it.  Given  the  atmosphere 
already  described,  the  mental  attitude  of  the  patient 
would  be  something  like  this — "This  is  actually 


Psychology  of  Jesus — His  Practice  139 

Jesus.  What  a  stroke  of  good  fortune  for  me! 
This  is  the  best  chance  I've  ever  had.  There's  no 
doubt  He  cured  that  leper  the  other  day.  I  know 
his  family,  and  I've  seen  the  man  since.  My  case 
is  not  as  bad  as  leprosy;  this  Jesus  ought  to  be 
able  to  help  me."  Then  the  incident  of  the  cure  is 
described ;  we  may  well  suppose  the  preliminary  con- 
versations to  be  not  fully  reported  by  the  evangel- 
ists; but  short  as  they  are  they  would  all  help  to 
crystallize  the  hope  of  the  patient  into  conviction. 
To  two  blind  men — "Believe  ye  that  I  am  able  to  do 
this?"  "Yea,  Lord."  Bartimaeus,  blindly  wonder- 
ing whether  Jesus  is  walking  or  has  walked  right 
past  him,  whether  his  last  chance  has  gone,  suddenly 
hears  the  crowd  stop  in  front  of  him,  and  that  voice 
full  of  tenderness  and  absolute  consciousness  of 
power  strikes  on  his  ear :  "Call  ye  him."  "Cheer 
up,"  they  say  to  him.  "It's  all  right;  get  up  and 
come  along;  He  calleth  thee,"  and  he  is  led  out  into 
the  middle  of  the  road  where  in  dead  silence  and  in 
utter  darkness  he  stands,  expectant,  before  the  Light 
of  the  world.  "What  wilt  thou  that  I  should  do 
unto  thee?"  Anything  could  be  done  by  Him;  it 
was  only  a  question  of  what  exactly  was  wanted. 
Certainty  was  the  suggestion  conveyed  by  that  ques- 
tion. "Rabboni,"  he  answered,  "that  I  may  receive 
my  sight."  "Go  thy  way;  thy  faith  had  made  thee 
whole." 


140  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

A  leper  shows  the  same  faith,  and  gives  proof  of 
the  necessary  attitude  of  mind — "If  thou  wilt,  thou 
canst  make  me  clean."  "I  will;  be  thou  made 
clean."  On  a  Sabbath  day  there  was  a  man  in  the 
synagogue  with  a  withered  hand;  conjectures  were 
made  whether  or  not  Jesus  would  heal  on  the  Sab- 
bath day.  The  argument  of  Jesus  has  a  double 
point;  apparently  He  is  teaching  what  we  now  call 
the  Christian  view  of  Sunday  observance ;  in  effect 
He  was  also  turning  the  cripple's  hope  into  absolute 
conviction.  Here  was  a  healer  apparently  not  con- 
cerned as  to  whether  he,  the  patient,  could  be  cured, 
but  merely  arguing  in  favour  of  curing  him  to-day 
rather  than  to-morrow!  To  the  man:  "Come  and 
stand  out  here;"  then  to  His  critics,  while  the  man 
stands  by  and  waits:  "Is  it  lawful  on  the  Sabbath 
day  to  go  good  or  to  do  harm?  To  save  life  or  to 
kill?" 

Anyone  can  study  this  kind  of  circumstance  in  a 
very  large  number  of  Jesus'  works  of  healing;  to 
quote  further  examples  would  be  superfluous.  It 
is  important  to  note  that  here  no  attempt  is  being 
made  to  reduce  His  cures  simply  to  a  mechanical 
process  and  to  rob  them  of  divine  power.  The 
power  of  God,  however,  did  apparently  work  in  a 
particular  kind  of  way;  that  is  the  present  point, 
and  nearly  equally  important  is  the  fact,  as  in  this 
book  I  have  tried  to  establish  it,  that  there  are  much 


Psychology  of  Jesus — His  Practice  141 

larger  reserves  of  power  than  is  commonly  sup- 
posed, at  the  disposal  of  any  man,  who  will  lead  a 
holy  life,  study  the  method  of  Jesus,  jealously  guard 
his  communion  with  God  and  develop  his  faith  in 
Him.  It  is  neither  necessary  nor  practicable  now 
to  discuss  whether  or  not  man  again  could  ever  do 
exactly  what  Jesus  did. 

There  is  still  more  in  the  method  of  Jesus  to 
notice.  A  large  number  of  His  cures  were  accom- 
panied by  some  outward  gesture  on  His  own  part 
or  on  the  part  of  the  sick,  chiefly  the  former.  The 
patient  was  ordered  to  stretch  out  his  hand,  or  to  go 
and  show  himself  to  the  priest,  or  to  wash  in  the 
pool  of  Siloam.  We  are  continually  told  that  Jesus 
laid  His  hand  on  the  sick  or  touched  them.  He 
made  spit  or  clay  on  the  eyes  of  the  blind  or  on  the 
tongue  of  the  stammerer;  He  put  His  fingers  into 
the  ears  of  the  deaf.  Such  physical  actions  were 
not  simply  outward  signs ;  they  had  a  psychological 
value.  Jesus  Himself  used  physical  sensation  as 
necessary  to  procure  for  the  patient  the  climax  of 
faith ;  to  the  patient  it  brought  the  actual  conscious 
conviction,  "Now  it's  going  to  happen.  I  am  mov- 
ing my  arm.  He  is  touching  me,  and  power  and 
cleansing  are  mine  again."  If  we  are  right  in  this 
supposition,  would  that  the  Church  had  used  and 
taught  the  application  of  its  holy  oil  with  anything 
like  the  conviction  with  which  the  psycho-therapist 


142  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

uses  he  material  methods  of  reassurance  already 
mentioned. 

Not  only  did  Jesus  strengthen  the  faith  and  in- 
crease the  assurance  of  the  sick  themselves,  but  He 
used  the  faith  of  their  friends.  It  is  for  such  cures 
as  that  of  the  centurion's  servant  and  certain  others 
that  there  is  no  psychological  equivalent  that  we  can 
establish.  The  patient  was  not  present,  but  the 
power  of  God  was  available  for  him  through  the 
faith  of  his  friends  and  of  Jesus.  It  is  well  to  re- 
member that  faith  is  at  least  as  contagious  as  de- 
spair. The  confidence  of  one  man  can  inspire 
another ;  so  may  it  have  been  with  the  soldier  and  his 
servant.  The  faith  of  the  former — greater  than 
which  none  had  been  found — would  undoubtedly 
have  that  effect  on  the  man  who  waited  on  him 
daily.  But  in  addition  to  that  kind  of  atmosphere 
created  by  other  men's  faith,  there  is  still  room  to 
suppose  that  from  burning  conviction — such  as  that 
of  Jesus  and  the  centurion — could  issue,  under  God, 
a  force  able  to  achieve  for  another  man  what  he  him- 
self could  not  obtain  through  faith  of  his  own. 
Such  a  cure  would  be  beyond  the  range  of  psycho- 
logical explanation;  that  does  not  necessarily  mean 
that  it  would  be  beyond  our  own  achievement.  We 
must  believe  in  the  effective  power  of  faith  exer- 
cised on  behalf  of  others.  Here  let  us  note  that  no 
psycho-therapist  has  done  all  that  Jesus  did,  and  that 


Psychology  of  Jesus— His  Practice  143 

at  least  some  cures  wrought  by  Him  will  never  be 
repeated,  certainly  by  no  faith  that  is  not  faith  in 
God.  We  have  His  own  word  for  it:  "This  kind 
can  come  out  by  nothing,  save  by  prayer." 

Of  all  features  of  His  healing  works  one  occa- 
sional feature  is  of  the  greatest  significance,  namely 
the  declaration  beforehand  of  forgiveness  of  sins. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  suppose  that  the  illness  was 
directly  due  to  the  patient's  own  past  sinfulness; 
that  may  or  may  not  have  been  so.  The  point  is 
that  sin  in  the  sufferer  was  unrepented  or  un  for- 
given; whether  repressed  or  in  open  conflict,  such 
sin  prevented  the  exercise  of  faith  required  for  the 
cure,  the  sense  of  moral  guilt  and  past  failure  must 
be  removed.  The  consciousness  of  being  forgiven, 
the  realization  of  acquiring  forgiveness  from  One 
speaking  with  authority,  removed  obstacles  and  gave 
the  assurance  that  One  who  could  bring  this  in- 
stant relief  to  a  tortured  conscience,  could  also  heal 
the  body. 

Of  hardly  less  importance  for  us,  if  we  would  be 
like  Jesus,  is  the  tender  compassion  felt  by  Him 
for  the  suffering.  This  is  constantly  mentioned.  It 
seems  not  only  to  have  been  the  motive  for  the  cure, 
but,  as  described  in  the  Gospels,  actually  to  have 
formed  part  of  the  power  exercised  by  Jesus,  the 
power  of  His  love.  It  was  as  if  the  energy  of  His 
whole  personality  were  suddenly  concentrated  on  the 


144  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

act  of  healing.  The  mind,  dulled  by  no  sin  of  care- 
lessness, sloth,  or  impurity;  the  will  weakened  by 
no  failure  of  His  own,  by  no  compromise  with  evil ; 
a  passionate  love  of  the  purest  intensity  with  which 
He  took  the  sinner  or  the  sufferer  right  into  His 
heart;  the  intensest  desire  to  heal  and  to  save,  be- 
cause He  loved  so  much,  a  perfect  instrument 
through  which  to  work,  and  an  unbounded  belief  in 
the  powers  which  were  His — this  was  Jesus. 

The  perfection  of  Jesus  is  noticeable  chiefly  in 
His  miracles  of  healing  and  in  His  teaching;  we  can 
hardly  study  the  behaviour  of  Jesus  apart  from  one 
or  other  of  these  two.  In  the  former,  power,  we  are 
told,  came  forth  from  Him,  and  in  the  latter  the 
same  power  was  obvious.  The  common  people 
recognized  that  He  taught  with  an  authority  not 
common  to  religious  teachers  of  the  day ;  the  Jewish 
leaders  mainly  responsible  for  His  prosecution  and 
death  recognized,  resented  and  feared  that  decisive- 
ness in  Him  which  could  only  spring  from  His  con- 
scious right  to  behave  as  He  did.  "By  what  au- 
thority?" they  asked.  Thus  His  entire  freedom 
from  doubt  and  fear  enabled  Him  to  speak  with  a 
complete  conviction  that  gave  every  utterance  of 
His  a  unique  authority,  recognized  not  only  by  His 
followers  but  by  His  enemies  as  well.  But  beyond 
the  sphere  of  miracle,  sermon  or  lesson,  He  was 
equally  supreme.  The  power  of  His  personality 


Psychology  of  Jesus — His  Practice  145 

is  shown  in  the  wonderful  attractiveness  of  which 
we  feel  the  pull  even  from  the  Gospel  story  of  two 
thousand  years  ago.  He  drew  men  to  Him.  He  had 
so  much  vital  energy  to  spare  that  He  could  afford 
for  each  individual  a  force  of  love  and  a  degree 
of  interest  that  the  ordinary  man  can  usually  be- 
stow on  none ;  such  love  was  magnetic  in  its  power. 
Further,  He  is  always  in  complete  command  of 
every  situation  in  which  He  figures,  not  least  on 
Calvary ;  His  is  the  dominating  figure  in  every  scene 
in  which  He  appears.  Yet  this  pre-eminence  never 
seems  studied  or  artificial.  Apart  from  the  attention 
which  character  can  always  without  effort  command, 
there  belonged  to  Him  a  power  of  adaptability  un- 
usual in  ordinary  people.  To  recognize  the  power 
of  habit,  its  advantage  when  the  habit  is  good,  its 
chains  when  the  habit  is  bad  or  stupid,  and  meaning- 
less, and  to  act  on  that  recognition  through  life, 
and  to  act  faultlessly  in  choice  of  habits — this  means 
real  freedom;  such  freedom  to  behave  as  the  mo- 
ment required,  such  instinctive  readiness  to  react 
aright  to  each  fresh  situation,  to  adjust  Himself 
quickly  and  easily  to  circumstances  and  people,  con- 
stituted the  adaptability  of  Jesus.  Quick-minded 
and  yet  perfectly  wise,  infinitely  tender  because  He 
always  understood,  with  a  judgment  that  had  no 
possibility  of  bias,  He  never  made  mistakes;  He 


146  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

could  not,  deceive  or  be  deceived.  He  was  com- 
plete— the  ideal  leader  and  the  ideal  friend. 

We  cannot  leave  this  study  of  His  personality 
without  dwelling  in  greater  detail  on  one  element  in 
it  which  is  noticeable  in  all  His  dealings  with  in- 
dividuals, namely,  His  "instinctive  knowledge"  of 
them.  The  phrase  is  incorrect.  That  Jesus  had 
special  powers  of  insight  and  comprehension  be- 
longing to  His  Divine  nature,  we  may  admit,  though 
the  "self -empty ing"  involved  in  the  taking  of  our 
manhood  upon  Him  might  well  have  included  the 
refusal  of  this  or  any  form  of  omniscience.  Let 
us  at  any  rate  consider  it  psychologically.  There 
is  no  such  thing  as  "instinctive  knowledge";  what 
is  meant  by  these  words  is  more  properly  named 
"intuition."  People  have  this  faculty  in  varying  de- 
grees; it  may  be  a  question  of  temperament  (which 
will  be  further  mentioned  in  the  last  chapter),  or 
of  education.  It  is  commonly  found  in  people  who 
are  called  sympathetic;  that  derivation  implies  that 
the  man  of  great  intuition  naturally  takes  a  great 
interest  in  other  people,  is  keenly  observant  of  them, 
and  is  really  anxious  to  understand  them  because 
he  cares  about  them. 

But  intuition  is  more  than  this,  just  because  it 
is  less  deliberate  and  (in  its  strict  meaning)  entirely 
unself conscious.  It  is  like  an  extra  sense;  it  warns, 
it  directs,  it  reveals  "instinctively"  as  we  say. 


Psychology  of  Jesus — His  Practice  147 

Psychologists  have  attempted  to  explain  it  as  the 
remains  of  the  experiences  of  life.  We  have  noticed 
that  most  events  and  experiences  in  a  man's  life 
remain  "somewhere"  in  his  mind,  though  not,  except 
a  very  small  proportion  of  them,  in  his  conscious 
memory  nor  easily  available  for  him.  Every  word 
spoken  to  me,  every  sight  seen  evokes  some  response 
or  reaction  in  myself,  it  makes  some  impression, 
however  slight.  My  reaction  to  such  a  stimulus  is 
generally  at  least  a  mental  comment  or  observation, 
deliberately  thought  out  or  spontaneously  evoked. 
Of  all  such  observations  made,  by  far  the  largest 
number  are  not  for  long  remembered,  but  most  of 
them  are  recorded,  and  provide  that  accumulation  of 
life-experience  which  acts  in  me  and  influences  me 
as  intuition.  Obviously  what  we  call  intuition  may 
be  often  at  fault,  but  in  so  far  as  our  innumerable 
observations  of  life  and  people  are  sound  in  the 
main,  so  intuition  will  be  generally  a  safe  guide. 
For  One  Who  grew  up  in  wisdom,  Whose  judgment 
was  never  biased  by  malice  or  caprice,  Whose  mind 
was  perfectly  developed  and  trained,  Whose  sensitive- 
ness to  any  impression  was  unimpaired,  Whose  heart 
was  pure,  Who  loved  men  as  none  other  has  loved, 
the  collective  experience  of  His  past  years  would 
provide  an  unfailing  intuition,  an  unerring  insight 
into  the  hearts  and  minds  of  men.  This  was  the 
insight  of  Jesus. 


148  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

We  must  now  turn  for  the  last  time  from  the  prac- 
tice of  Jesus  to  His  teaching.  We  have  not  at- 
tempted to  deal  with  either  exhaustively.  They  will 
both  be  found  in  detail  to  correspond  generally  to 
principles  of  action  laid  down  in  this  book.  We 
accept  such  principles  first  and  foremost  because  they 
are  His,  next  because  their  method  can  to  some  ex- 
tent be  understood,  copied  and  applied.  In  the 
seventh  chapter  of  St.  Mark's  Gospel  it  is  recorded 
that  Jesus  said  that  a  man  is  defiled  by  what  proceeds 
out  of  him;  "for  from  within,  out  of  the  heart  of 
men,  evil  thoughts  proceed,  fornications,  thefts, 
murders,  etc."  We  have  seen  cause  to  make  much 
of  the  influence  of  environment  upon  men's  thought, 
habit  and  character ;  but  we  have  also  noted  that  men 
can,  once  they  understand  it,  control  the  influence 
of  their  surroundings  on  themselves,  and  that  sug- 
gestion from  outside  only  becomes  effective  and  is 
translated  into  action  when  a  man  accepts  it  or  lets 
it  pass  unchallenged.  The  words  of  Jesus  here 
recorded  are  a  reassurance  on  this  point  coming 
from  Him  Who,  of  all,  is  best  qualified  to  speak. 
jWe  need  not  be  the  victims  of  evil  suggestion  around 
us  or  the  slaves  of  our  environment,  nor  on  the  other 
hand  can  we  honestly  make  either  our  excuse  for  sin. 
Temptation  comes  often  enough  from  without  and 
takes  quick  and  easy  root  in  the  instincts;  there,  in 
the  heart  of  man,  is  the  seat  of  sin.  To  be  tempted 


Psychology  of  Jesus — His  Practice  149 

through  the  instincts  is  no  sin ;  sin  is  sin,  temptation 
is  not.  Jesus  was  tempted,  tempted  through  His 
instincts,  yet  sinned  not.  We  can  reject  evil  sugges- 
tion and  prove  conclusively  that  evil  only  becomes 
evil  for  us  when  we  accept  it  and  re-express  it,  when 
temptation  enters  the  heart  and  there  becomes  sin. 
"Out  of  the  abundance  of  the  heart  the  mouth 
speaketh." 

But  simply  to  be  concerned  with  rejecting  evil 
will  not  make  us  safe.  This  is  illustrated  by  Jesus 
in  a  short  parable,  which  is  pre-eminent  among  the 
parables  for  vivid  exhortation  and  warning.1  The 
unclean  spirit  returns  to  the  heart  of  man  from 
which  he  had  been  driven,  and  finds  nothing  there, 
no  evil  at  all,  less  indeed  than  when  he  was  there 
before,  but  equally  no  good.  With  seven  other 
spirits  more  evil  than  himself  he  returns  into  the 
man's  heart,  whose  last  state  is  worse  than  his  first. 
This  is  horribly  exact  psychology.  We  have  already 
explored  the  ground  it  covers,  but  it  is  mentioned 
here  as  the  last  example  of  the  similarity  of  the  ad- 
vice of  Jesus  to  the  advice  of  lesser  men.  Evil  sug- 
gestions from  environment  will  inevitably  enter  the 
mind  of  man;  they  may  be  ejected  at  first,  but  the 
invasion  will  be  overwhelming  unless  he  has  coun- 
tered them  with  suggestions  which  are  positively 
good  and  inspired  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  He  must  en- 
1  St.  Matthew  xii,  which  is  full  of  psychology. 


150  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

gage  the  energies  of  his  instincts,  the  interest  of  his 
mind,  the  will  and  desire  of  his  heart,  with  that  which 
is  positively  good.  It  all  sounds  so  simple,  and  it  is  so 
very  hard.  It  means  opening  the  heart  without  re- 
serve to  the  presence  of  Christ;  where  there  is  any  re- 
serve, any  corner  into  which  we  do  not  admit  Him, 
evil  suggestions  will  find  a  home  and  start  their  ac- 
tivities. To  open  the  heart  wholly  to  Christ  will 
mean  sacrifice,  self-denial,  isolation,  poverty,  loss  of 
friends — any  of  these.  It  will  also  mean  joy,  power 
such  as  we  have  never  known,  and  peace. 


Chapter  VIII:    General  Con- 
clusions 

Emphasis  has  been  so  far  laid  upon  the  fact  that 
much  of  psychological  discovery  and  method  is 
available  for  the  use  of  the  ordinary  man  and  is  ap- 
plicable in  particular  to  the  life  of  the  Christian  be- 
liever. Yet  again  and  again  in  the  foregoing  pages 
it  has  been  necessary  to  refer  to  Faith-Healing 
or  Psycho-Therapy  as  a  thing  apart.  Beyond  a 
certain  line  the  relief  of  moral  disorder,  mental  strain 
or  physical  infirmity  in  himself  or  others  cannot  fall 
within  the  compass  of  the  ordinary  man's  achieve- 
ment. While  he  can  apply  common  sense  and  analy- 
tic method  further  than  he  does,  refuse  to  accept 
so  many  limitations,  and  draw  on  reserves  of  psychic 
energy  and  spiritual  power  hitherto  unused  by  him, 
yet  at  some  point  or  other  he  may  reach  a  limit, 
which  can  only  be  passed  by  the  expert.  Of  such 
experts  we  need  a  much  larger  number  in  all  re- 
ligious bodies.  The  cure  of  souls,  as  Dr.  Hadfield 
implies  in  his  essay  in  "The  Spirit,"  is  an  art  much 
neglected  in'  the  Christian  Church,  yet  it  is  an  art 


152  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

in  which  the   Christian  ministry   should  be  pre- 
eminent. 

First,  every  man  called  to  the  ministry  of  any 
religious  body  should  have,  as  an  inevitable  part  of 
his  training,  a  real  grounding  in  practical  psychol- 
ogy. The  general  principles  which  govern  human 
behaviour  should  be  learnt,  and  he  should  have  a 
course  in  "moral  pathology,"  as  a  medical  student 
has  his  hospital  course.  The  results  of  such  uni- 
versal training  would  be  considerable.  The  Angli- 
can confessor  would  become  more  efficient  in  help- 
ing the  penitent  to  unburden  himself;  his  counsel 
and  advice  would  be  given  less  by  rule  of  thumb 
and  more  by  real  understanding  of  the  complexities 
of  human  nature.  Anglican  priests  who  do  not  hear 
confessions,  and  ministers  of  the  Free  Churches  also 
would  become  more  truly  shepherds  of  their  flock; 
many  may  become  so  in  middle  or  later  life  as  a 
result  of  accumulated  observation  and  experience, 
but  they  might  be  more  effective  much  earlier.  Their 
dealings  with  individual  sinners  and  sufferers  would 
be  more  informed;  they  would  understand  more 
quickly  what  was  wrong  and  how  it  came  to  be 
wrong ;  they  would  know  how  to  counter  and  defeat 
evil  suggestion,  how  to  train  and  develop  their 
friend's  confidence  in  God.  But  even  if  such  train- 
ing of  clergy  and  ministers  became  much  more  gen- 


General  Conclusions  153 

eral  than  it  is  now,  it  would  not  be  nearly  sufficient 
to  meet  the  need  and  the  opportunity. 

In  each  diocese,  rural  deanery,  or  district,  there 
should  be  available  an  expert  muchi  more  fully 
trained.  At  present  a  few  individual  people  of 
unique  religious  faculty,  who  have  a  great  interest 
in  the  subject,  specialize  and  become  faith-healers 
on  their  own  initiative;  the  Guild  of  Health  exists 
for  those  who  are  particularly  interested.  But  the 
Christian  Church  as  a  whole  must  cease  to  regard 
the  psychological  application  of  its  faith  as  a  mere 
by-way  to  be  followed  by  a  few  exceptional  people.; 
The  Christian  Faith  is  a  unity;  certain  groups  tend 
almost  to  exaggerate  its  therapeutic  side,  as  if  the 
cure  of  disease  were  the  only  reason  for  which 
Christ  became  man;  meanwhile  the  main  body  of 
professing  Christians  entirely  ignore  that  aspect  of 
their  faith.  As  there  are  Diocesan  Missioners  and 
other  such  officials,  special  preachers  and  so  forth, 
as  a  normal  and  necessary  part  of  the  administrative 
system  of  the  Church  of  England,1  let  there  be  also 
psycho-therapeutic  experts.  They  need  not,  at  any 
rate  at  first,  be  set  apart  solely  for  this  work;  they 
would  be  in  ordinary  parish  work,  but  would  be 
known  to  the  neighbouring  parishes  for  their  special 
qualifications.  They  would  advise  their  brother- 

1  Inevitably  I  speak  and  think  of  this  proposal  in  terms  of 
the  Church  of  England.  Members  of  other  Churches  will  be 
able  to  apply  it  to  their  own  organizations. 


154  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

clergy  in  the  cure  of  souls,  and  they  would  treat  par- 
ticular cases  of  abnormal  mental  or  moral  disorder 
in  the  district.  It  should  become  the  ordinary  cus- 
tom for  those  in  charge  of  ordination  candidates 
at  Universities  or  Theological  Colleges  to  select  the 
right  men  for  this  work;  in  addition  to  the  usual 
course  in  theology  and  psychology  such  candidates 
would  take  a  short  medical  course,  specializing  in 
physiology  and  neurology.  They  would  also  spend 
some  time  studying  the  method  of  a  psycho-analyst 
of  repute.  At  ordination  they  would  go  to  a  parish 
in  a  district  where  there  was  no  expert  of  the  kind, 
or  they  might  form  part  of  a  Bishop's  Diocesan 
Mission  staff.  This  will  happen  some  day,  and  the 
number  will  include  many  women,  admitted  to  the 
diaconate  for  the  purpose. 

Even  before  this  comes  about  there  is  a  great 
deal  that  laymen  and  women  could  do  for  them- 
selves. It  would  be  well  if  we  could  eradicate  from 
conversation  the  words  "striking  personality,"  when- 
ever they  are  used  to  mean  "the  kind  of  person  I 
could  never  be  like."  Many  statements  in  these 
pages  will  be  questioned,  but  none  perhaps  more  than 
the  following:  "Personality  is  not  the  monopoly  of 
the  few;  it  can  be  acquired."  It  can  indeed  be  ac- 
quired in  a  certain  degree  even  by  the  least  talented. 
The  method  of  its  acquisition  in  its  first  stages  has 
been  outlined  in  this  book.  A  "striking  personality" 


General  Conclusions  155 

is  no  more,  but  no  less,  than  a  channel  for  power. 
To  be  quite  clear,  let  such  power  be  defined  under 
two  heads ;  first  there  is  the  power  of  our  instinctive 
energies.  It  has  been  often  pointed  out  that  in 
moments  of  crisis  or  of  great  emergency  a  man  will 
suddenly  become  endowed  with  abnormal  powers  of 
mental  or  physical  endurance,  and  yet  when  the 
crisis  is  past,  he  will  often  suffer  from  no  undue  con- 
sciousness of  fatigue.  Countless  illustrations  could 
be  given  of  the  existence  in  our  natural  inheritance 
of  immense  reserves  of  energy,  by  most  of  us  un- 
used, if  not  actually  abused  and  misapplied.  The 
amount  in  which  different  men  and  women  possess 
such  energy  varies  of  course  enormously;  this  is  a 
matter  of  what  is  called  "temperament,"  and  is 
largely  governed  by  the  physical  tendencies  which 
we  inherit  or  by  the  bodily  habits  and  conditions 
developed  by  our  environment  or  by  our  own  ac- 
tions. It  must  be  admitted,  too,  that  the  willingness 
or  ability  to  find  and  apply  that  natural  energy 
will  again  be  a  matter  of  temperament,  for  which 
no  man  is  entirely  responsible,  and  which  no  man 
can  entirely  change. 

Even  so  there  is  hope  for  us  all.  We  are  too 
much  inclined  to  accept  limitations  that  need  not 
exist  for  us  and  to  live  far  below  our  maximum.  It 
is  desperate  work  to  listen  to  anyone,  particularly 
those  on  the  threshold  of  life,  making  some  such 


156  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

remark  as  this  (and  it  is  my  fate  constantly  to  hear 
it)  :  "Yes  I  wish  I  could  do  it;  but,  you  see,  it  re- 
quires a  man  with  real  personality."  The  implica- 
tion is  that  the  speaker  feels  he  has  no  personality 
to  speak  of  and  never  could  have.  There  is  no  more 
damaging  suggestion  that  a  man  can  make  to  him- 
self. He  will  get  what  he  expects;  he  deserves 
to  be  for  life  the  dull  and  ineffective  creature  that 
he  plans  to  become.  If  such  an  attitude  of  mind  is 
humility,  then  such  humility  is  vice  rather  than 
virtue.  The  man  must  learn  that  his  natural  endow- 
ment equips  him  with  wonderful  powers  and,  if  he 
will  take  the  trouble  to  develop  them,  he  is  half-way 
towards  achieving  the  "personality"  of  which  before 
he  had  despaired. 

In  going  the  rest  of  the  way  he  will  need  to  learn 
true  humility.  For  the  other  factor  in  personality, 
that  is  within  his  reach,  is  simply  the  power  of  God. 
We  will  for  clearness'  sake  distinguish  this  abso- 
lutely from  our  natural  endowment.  We  may  be- 
ilieve  that  the  Holy  Spirit  works  through  our  nature, 
or  that  our  natural  faculties  are  themselves  divine. 
But  let  us  also  quite  clearly  maintain  a  belief  in  the 
spiritual  power  which,  though  outside  ourselves,  is 
available  for  our  use.  This  is  the  two- fold  secret 
of  personality;  it  may  not  reap  earthly  honours 
and  rewards ;  it  may  not  bring  a  great  name,  but  it 
will  wield  an  influence,  no  less  actual  because  un- 


General  Conclusions  157 

acknowledged,  and  it  will  get  things  done  in  life 
that  need  doing.  It  is  within  the  reach  of  all  of  us 
in  varying  degrees  and  it  is  life-power. 

The  accusation  may  be  made  that  I  am  making 
life  appear  too  easy.  That  it  will  never  be,  but  I 
would  utter  a  cry  of  protest  in  a  world  that  needs 
hope  and  finds  little.  The  present  generation  is 
stepping  out  into  a  world  that  is  baffling  in  the  prob- 
lems that  it  presents.  No  problem  offers  any  ap- 
parent solution.  Moral  standards,  never  of  any  great 
nobility  at  least  in  this  century,  are  toppling  down  ; 
religion,  the  newcomer  is  told,  has  failed.  Every 
man  then  for  himself  to  make  the  best  for  himself 
of  a  world  that  is  bound  to  be  pretty  bad !  Psychol- 
ogists tell  us  that  hope  of  some  kind  is  a  factor  in 
all  human  conduct;  all  conduct  is  purposeful;  there 
can  be  no  purpose  in  life  without  hope.  But  we 
need  a  hope  that  will  become  self-conscious  and  dy- 
namic, and  this  hope,  if  it  is  to  be  universal,  can 
be  found  in  Christ  alone. 

It  is  necessary  also  to  consider  the  application  of 
psychological  principles  to  society  at  large  and  not 
only  to  the  individual.  The  individual  is  the  im- 
portant factor  in  what  we  call  "public  opinion." 
Public  opinion  is  simply  the  collective  opinion  of 
individuals,  with  the  added  strength  of  conviction 
which  comes  from  common  agreement,  influenced  by 
the  social  instinct.  The  only  practical  way  for  a 


158  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

man  to  regard  public  opinion  is  as  himself.  For  all 
practical  purposes  he  is  public  opinion.  We  have 
been  mainly  concerned  with  the  effect  of  environ- 
ment on  a  man ;  of  equal  importance  is  the  influence 
of  the  man  on  his  environment. 

To  affect  my  environment  rightly  I  must  neces- 
sarily first  ensure  that  as  far  as  possible  my  own 
opinions  are  right;  I  must  not  adopt  opinions  with- 
out examining  them.  There  are  certain  matters  on 
which  I  must  accept  the  advice  of  other  people; 
and  the  examination  here  recommended  does  not 
imply  the  need  or  possibility  of  proving  an  opinion 
absolutely  right  before  I  accept  it.  Where  no  proof 
is  possible  and  yet  I  must  hold  one  opinion  or  an- 
other, I  shall  accept  the  opinions  of  those  whose 
judgment  I  most  respect;  the  opinions  of  other  men 
I  shall  examine  before  I  adopt  them,  particularly 
those  opinions  which  are  casually  expressed  and 
heard  by  me  with  comparative  indifference.  In  such 
circumstances  a  man  is  most  "suggestible,"  i.e.,  most 
susceptible  to  suggestion.  It  is  often  fatal  to  listen 
to  an  expression  of  opinion  about  things  that  matter 
and  then  to  adopt  a  negative  or  delaying  attitude 
towards  them.  I  think  at  the  time  that  later  on  I 
will  go  into  the  matter.  In  point  of  fact  I  never  do, 
and  the  suggestion  put  into  my  mind  will  remain 
there,  unknown  to  me,  and  later  it  will  become  my 
own  and  when  I  express  it  I  shall  find  myself 


General  Conclusions  159 

equipped  with  ready-made  reasons  in  support  of  it. 
In  exactly  the  same  way  the  man  who  entered  the 
picture-gallery  1  accepted  without  examination  the 
suggestion  that  came  to  his  mind  at  the  sight  of  the 
crowd  in  front  of  one  picture ;  their  opinion  rapidly 
became  his  own  and  he  then  sought  reasons  for 
that  opinion.  This  is  an  instance  of  the  commonest 
of  all  mental  habits.  A  man  will  argue  himself 
hoarse  in  a  discussion  in  favour  of  an  opinion  that 
he  originally  accepted  like  a  sheep  from  the  words 
or  conventions  of  those  around  him.  This  con- 
stitutes the  great  chance  of  the  propagandist  press, 
as  we  have  already  seen. 

Once  a  man  has  schooled  his  mind  against  the 
invasion  of  undigested  popular  opinion  from  the 
crowd,  and  has  cultivated  the  habit  of  deliberate  and 
independent  choice  in  the  opinions  which  he  wiH. 
adopt  about  art,  politics  or  moral  questions,  he  can 
then  reflect  on  the  contribution  to  public  opinion 
that  he  himself  will  make.  It  must  be  also  re- 
membered that  in  ordinary  social  life  people  fre- 
quently turn  a  suggestion  into  its  opposite;  for 
instance,  you  may  not  take  to  a  man  on  first  meet- 
ing him,  but  judge  him  to  be  officious  or  self- 
opinionated.  He  remarks  that  London  is  obviously 
the  finest  city  in  the  world ;  you  immediately  become 
conscious  that  it  is  not  the  finest  city,  merely  because 
'P.  55- 


160  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

he  has  said  it  is.  The  opinion  you  start  forming 
is  as  unconsidered  as  it  would  have  been  if  you  had 
agreed  with  him.  In  dealings  with  other  people  it  is 
well  to  look  out  for  the  type  of  person  who  will 
always  go  against  any  statement  made  and  accept 
the  contrary  as  the  suggestion  he  makes  to  himself, 
not  out  of  any  desire  to  examine  it  and  discover 
what  is  right,  but  out  of  sheer  pigheadedness ;  allow- 
ances must  be  made  also  for  this  tendency  in  all 
people,  if  one's  own  expression  of  opinions  is  apt 
to  be  too  judicial  or  dictatorial. 

Further,  as  I  have  said,  people's  minds  are  affected 
unconsciously  but  vastly  by  the  casual  remark.  The 
people  who  have,  I  think,  apart  from  my  parents 
and  a  few  others,  influenced  me  most  for  good  or 
ill  by  their  words  or  example,  have  been  people  who 
were  not  at  the  moment  intending  any  such  influ- 
ence; they  would  not  now  even  remember  the  occa- 
sions. Anyone  looking  back  over  a  year  or  two 
will  find  instances  of  this  great  influence  exercised 
by  trifling  events.  It  is  "the  idle  word"  that  builds 
up  or  destroys.  The  moral  of  this  is  not  that  we 
should  ponderously  attempt  to  speak  at  all  times  with 
studied  deliberation  and  to  improve  every  occasion; 
all  our  suggestions  will  then  be  taken,  and  deservedly 
so,  in  their  contrary  application;  we  shall  be  pomp- 
ous and  priggish,  horrible  examples  of  the  complete 
bore.  There  is  no  one  more  oppressive  than  the 


General  Conclusions  161 

man  who  is  hardly  ever  natural  or  spontaneous;  he 
is  the  perfect  kill-joy.  Rather  it  is  out  of  the  abun- 
dance of  the  heart  that  the  mouth  speaketh.  If  God 
reigns  in  a  man's  heart,  if  he  is  positively  seeking 
that  which  is  good  in  his  life  and  thought,  he  will 
not  be  found  even  in  his  most  casual  conversation 
expressing  opinions  which  could  do  harm  by  acting 
as  weakening  suggestions  in  the  minds  of  other 
people. 

The  man  who  goes  about  saying  that  the  League 
of  Nations  will  fail  is  quite  definitely  making  his 
contribution  to  the  faithlessness  of  public  opinion 
which  will  go  far  to  securing  the  failure  of  that 
or  of  any  other  attempt  to  put  ideals  into  practice. 
The  man  who  is  wholly  given  to  the  service  of  the 
will  of  God  will  never  be  found  pronouncing  an 
ideal  impossible  of  achievement,  though  he  has  prob- 
ably given  much  more  serious  consideration  to  its 
practical  difficulties  than  has  the  man  who  lightly 
dismisses  the  whole  affair  as  impracticable.  We 
owe  more  than  we  can  estimate  to  the  men  and 
women  who,  without  preaching  or  adopting  a  heavy 
manner,  without  disregarding  practical  difficulties, 
yet  believe  in  the  possibility  of  the  best  in  themselves, 
in  others  and  in  the  world.  But  public  opinion  will 
never  be  healthy  and  strong  until  there  are  very 
many  more  such  people. 

Public  worship  is  another  department  of  life  which 


162  Psychology  an'd  the  Christian  Life 

needs  reform  on  psychological  lines.  We  saw  in 
the  first  chapter  that  a  man  will  concentrate  his  at- 
tention on  any  matter  in  proportion  to  the  amount 
of  vital  importance  which  it  has  for  himself.  This 
is  particularly  true  in  intellectual  pursuits,  in  any- 
thing, that  is  to  say,  which  engages  the  mind  only 
and  not  the  body.  A  religious  service  is  not  exactly 
an  intellectual  pursuit,  but  it  is  similar  in  that  it 
seeks  to  engage  the  mind  and  emotions  while  em- 
ploying no  physical  activity.  It  deals  with  the 
things  that  are  not  seen.  To  those  for  whom  the 
unseen  is  vividly  real,  to  the  mystics  and  the  devout, 
the  length  of  a  service  does  not  much  matter ;  they 
can  concentrate  their  attention  for  a  considerable 
time  because  the  object  of  their  attention  is  intensely 
real  and  of  the  first  importance  to  them.  I  speak, 
therefore,  of  the  services  intended  originally  for 
the  devout,  but  in  practice  serving  for  all  and  sun- 
dry; again  I  speak  necessarily  from  inside  knowl- 
edge of  the  Church  of  England  only. 

The  ordinary  man  and  woman  goes  to  church 
with  no  intense  desire  to  worship  or  to  hold  com- 
munion with" God.  He  is  often  a  believer,  no  doubt; 
he  wants  to  live  rightly,  he  is  ready  and  anxious 
to  be  helped,  but  as  he  enters  the  church  door  he 
is  fired  by  no  burning  conviction ;  his  Sunday  morn- 
ing service  is  not  a  matter  of  life  and  death  to  him. 
He  is  therefore  in  no  state  of  mind  that  will  make 


General  Conclusions  163 

concentration  and  attention  easy  for  him.1  I  am  as- 
suming that  if  his  attention  is  not  properly  en- 
gaged, he  is  neither  giving  nor  receiving  anything 
of  particular  value.  For  such  (I  maintain,  the 
average  church-goer)  and  still  more  for  the  eighty 
per  cent,  or  so  whom  we  try  in  vain  to  get  into  any 
place  of  public  worship  at  all,  an  hour  is  about  the 
longest  that  the  service  should  last.  I  challenge  the 
clergy  themselves  to  assert  that,  except  in  the  Sacra- 
ment of  Holy  Communion,  they  can  concentrate  on 
holy  things  even  for  so  long.  Yet  they  expect  that 
concentration  of  those  less  adequately  trained  than 
themselves  for  religious  exercises. 

Before  engaging  this  subject  further,  let  us  admit 
that  very  slowly,  much  too  slowly  at  present  to 
make  its  organized  Christianity  of  any  real  use  to 
the  present  generation,  the  Church  of  England  is 
reforming  its  services;  also  individual  vicars,  here 
and  there,  by  careful  arrangement  of  the  Sunday, 
are  doing  their  duty  to  the  Prayer  Book  as  loyal 
priests  and  are  yet  managing  to  provide  large  con- 
gregations of  different  types  with  what  they  most 
need;  the  majority,  however,  are  not  doing  this^ 
In  most  churches  the  congregation,  which  comes  in 

JI  am  not  here  referring  to  the  Holy  Eucharist;  but  the 
growing  idea  amongst  a  section  of  Anglican  clergy  that  a 
celebration,  when  part  of  a  long  service,  has  any  particular 
power  to  hold  the  attention  of  any  but  the  devout,  is,  I  am 
sure,  largely  mistaken. 


164  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

fresh  and  alert  enough,  does  not  expect  to  be  in- 
terested; the  whole  thing  is  bound  to  be  perfunctory, 
as  far  as  they  are  concerned.  This  certainly  not 
only  keeps  many  outside  altogether — they  or  their 
friends  have  been  there  and  they  know — but  on  those 
who  do  come  it  acts  as  a  weakening  suggestion  in 
their  minds  and  makes  it  actually  hard,  if  not  im- 
possible, for  them  to  give  their  full  and  undivided 
attention  to  the  service. 

Yet  they  enter  the  building  alert  enough,  and 
the  Church  has  Sunday  after  Sunday  a  great  op- 
portunity. In  the  first  half-hour  of  a  service  which 
lasts  eighty  or  ninety  minutes  or  even  more  that 
opportunity  has  been  thrown  away.  At  the  end  of 
the  first  half-hour  the  congregation  is  lethargic  and 
absent-minded ;  nothing  has  so  far  been  said  or  done 
which  has  any  apparent  relation  to  their  own  lives. 
By  the  time  the  preacher  mounts  the  pulpit  they  are 
exhausted  or  at  least  bored;  they  are  so  accustomed 
to  this  sensation  jn  church  that  they  do  not  realize 
it,  far  less  worry  about  it.  The  announcement  of 
the  text  and  the  opening  sentences  of  the  sermon 
stimulate  a  flicker  of  interest,  but  the  energies  are 
already  spent,  and  unless  the  preacher  is  exception- 
ally good  ("good"  does  not  necessarily  mean  either 
eloquent  or  clever),  he  might  as  well  not  trouble 
to  preach  at  all.  The  sermon  is  perhaps  in  the  wrong 
place;  earlier  it  might  stimulate  a  desire  for  wor- 


General  Conclusions  165 

ship,  it  might  be  designed  to  give  point  and  meaning 
to  our  beautiful  prayers;  it  comes  too  late,  and  to  an 
audience  that  can  still  hear,  but  has  little  enough 
energy  with  which  to  listen.  We  are  sleepy  and  en- 
feebled ;  we  want  our  lunch. 

It  is  no  good  blaming  the  congregation;  they 
have  their  faults;  they  must  share  the  blame  for 
what  is  wrong  with  the  Church  of  England,  but  in 
this  matter  very  little  of  it  can  be  attributed  to  them. 
The  Free  Churches  are  tied  to  no  form  of  service, 
they  do  not  need  to  rearrange  Sunday  services  which 
are  obligatory  on  them,  but  often,  I  am  told,  their 
services  are,  to  say  the  least  of  it,  no  more  enlivening. 
There  is,  I  truly  believe,  a  real  search  for  God  going 
on  in  the  hearts  and  minds  of  the  English  people. 
Organized  religion  does  not  help  them  much.  There 
is  a  spirit  abroad  which  is  truly  religious;  we  in 
the  Church  of  England  give  it,  as  the  main  channel 
of  expression,  Matins  or  an  elaborate  Sung  Euchar- 
ist beyond  the  understanding  or  devotional  capacity 
of  an  uninstructed  and  uninterested  public.  Com- 
pare this  method  with  the  religious  expression  of 
Jesus,  iconoclastic  in  His  denunciation  of  formalism, 
elaboration  and  unreality.  We  are  not  helping  men 
in  a  simple  way  to  reach  God  through  Him.  I 
plead  for  real  common  sense  based  on  a  sympathetic 
observation  and  understanding  of  human  nature  and 
its  needs,  in  the  ordering  of  Divine  worship  in  all 


1 66  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

churches.1  The  illustration  given  has  been  in  refer- 
ence to  the  length  of  the  service ;  this  is  merely  one, 
not  necessarily  the  most  important,  illustration  of 
the  application  of  psychological  principles  to  public 
religious  observances.  The  whole  subject  needs  to 
be  explored  very  much  further. 

The  last  illustration  I  would  give  of  the  need  of 
the  application  of  the  psychological  method  to  so- 
ciety is  from  the  life  of  the  common  people.  Many 
examples  could  be  given  of  the  lack  of  any  such 
method  in  the  treatment  of  the  people  by  employers 
or  government.  It  must  be  sufficient  here  to  remind 
ourselves  that  the  moral  and  psychological  element 
is  at  least  as  primary  a  cause  of  present  political  and 
industrial  unrest  as  any  economic  factor.  But  there 
cannot  be  here  any  digression  into  the  general  field 
of  industrial  economics;  it  must  suffice  to  observe 

1  The  application  of  such  understanding  exists  notably  in 
the  services  held  in  the  church  of  St.  Martin's-in-the-Fields. 
I  mention  this  church  without  the  vicar's  knowledge  or  per- 
mission. He  is  perfectly  right  in  maintaining  that  much  of 
the  method  of  those  services  could  be  adopted  anywhere. 
Clergy  who  know  or  know  of  St.  Martin's,  dismiss  it  far  too 
lightly  on  the  score  of  its  vicar.  The  true  religion  purveyed 
in  Trafalgar  Square  does  not  and  need  not  depend  exclusively 
on  the  personality  ef  any  one  man.  Many  people,  of  both 
sexes,  of  all  ages  and  classes,  never  mention  the  vicar  when 
alluding  to  the  church.  If  questioned,  they  would  probably 
say  that  they  prefer  to  hear  him  preaching,  but  the  reason 
they  give  for  going  to  the  church  may  be  summed  up  in  the 
words:  "Religion  really  means  something  to  me  there.  All 
the  service  seems  to  have  a  point  and  does  not  go  on  too  long. 
There  is  an  atmosphere  of  true  worship  in  the  place ;  it  is  easy 
to  pray." 


General  Conclusions  167 

that  between  one  section  of  the  community  and 
another,  as  between  nation  and  nation,  fear  and  sus- 
picion based  on  mutual  misunderstanding  are  the 
most  prolific  causes  of  aggression  and  of  war. 

Properly  educated  people  are  in  an  infinitely  bet- 
ter position  than  are  the  masses  for  analysing  the 
grounds  of  this  misunderstanding  and  for  seeking 
to  remove  them;  yet  educated  minds  will  insist  on 
considering  this  matter  mainly  as  a  political  or 
economic  problem,  when  chiefly  it  is  a  human  prob- 
lem. Nor  do  the  large  percentage  of  educated  citi- 
zens seem  yet  to  realize  that  no  ideal  political  or 
economic  system  can  be  founded  in  ignorance  of 
psychological  facts;  further,  that  these  facts,  be- 
cause they  relate  to  human  nature  and  habits  of 
mind,  cannot  be  adequately  understood  theoretically 
or  by  books  alone.  In  the  long  run  we  can  only 
hope  to  understand  the  working-man  by  knowing 
him,  and  knowing  him  not  merely  as  we  know  (or 
don't  know)  our  gardener  or  the  waiter  at  our 
favourite  table  in  the  restaurant,  but  knowing  him  as 
we  know  our  friend  on  level  terms,  as  far  as  that  is 
possible.  Until  such  knowledge  and  understanding 
becomes  the  usual  instead  of  the  exceptional  thing, 
so  long  will  the  wheels  of  social  reconstruction  creak 
and  jar.  It  is  folly  to  suppose  it  could  be  otherwise. 
Ultimately  this  is  more  a  strictly  moral  question  than 
a  psychological  one.  If  people  cared  more  about 


1 68  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

their  country  and  their  fellow-countrymen,  they 
would  endeavour,  at  whatever  inconvenience,  to  ac- 
quire some  firsthand  understanding  of  their  point 
of  view.  Ignorance  alone  can  no  longer  be  pleaded ; 
selfishness  helps  to  preserve  the  ignorance  intact. 
It  is  too  much  trouble  to  find  out,  and  what  we  dis- 
cover might  lead  us  to  make  further  and  more  ma- 
terial sacrifices,  which  we  do  not  propose  to  con- 
template. 

There  is,  however,  one  purely  psychological  con- 
sideration which  I  would  urge.  Apart  from  ab- 
normal periods  of  acute  unemployment,  the  labourer 
and  artisan,  speaking  generally,  are  gradually  gain- 
ing better  wages  for  shorter  hours.  This  opens  up 
many  subjects  of  discussion,  for  instance  the  rela- 
tion of  such  improvements  to  the  rate  of  industrial 
production  and  to  the  national  health.  One  point 
alone  we  will  consider  and  it  is  this :  every  improve- 
ment in  a  man's  hours  and  wages  or  working  con- 
ditions releases  more  of  his  energy  from  the  struggle 
for  existence.  We  have  seen  that  instinctive  energy, 
not  called  into  play  for  self-preservation  or  repro- 
duction, seeks  an  outlet;  the  masses  of  the  people 
year  by  year  have  more  and  more  of  such  energy 
set  free  without  any  accompanying  development  of 
channels  around  them  for  the  expenditure  of  spare 
energy  usefully  or  even  harmlessly.  Loafing,  drink- 
ing, sexual  immorality,  gambling  are  for  many  men 


General  Conclusions  169 

and  women  the  only  channels  available,  and  all  such 
channels  represent  abuse  of  one  or  another  of  the 
primary  instincts.  One  of  the  most  wasteful  uses 
of  spare  time  and  money  is  the  enormously  increased 
interest  of  men  in  the  fortunes  of  horses  which  they 
have  never  seen  and  are  never  likely  to  see.  It  is 
pathetic  that  the  chief  or,  at  any  rate,  the  most  ob- 
vious result  of  shorter  hours  and  better  wages  should 
be  more  pence  to  spend  on  the  "early  and  late  edi- 
tions," more  time  to  study  them  and  more  shillings 
to  lose  by  means  of  them.  Is  this  sort  of  amuse- 
ment or  diversion  the  best  that  can  be  provided  ? 

We  have  already  noticed  that  the  advance  of  what 
we  have  always  been  pleased  to  call  civilization  has 
lightened  the  struggle  for  existence  and  has  also 
brought  in  its  train  a  variety  of  means  for  the  useful 
or  harmless  diversion  of  surplus  energy;  but  these 
means  are  chiefly  at  the  disposal  of  the  governing 
classes  who  have  so  many  such  opportunities  that,  as 
we  have  seen,  they  are  tempted  to  enjoy  them  at 
the  expense  of  their  duties  to  the  community.  But 
in  our  big  cities  there  are  not  even  sufficient  open 
spaces  to  provide  facilities  for  the  physical  recrea- 
tion of  half  the  boys  and  men  of  the  working-classes. 
The  joys  of  art,  music,  literature  and  learning  are 
beyond  their  reach;  even  if  an  appreciation  of  such 
were  developed,  the  local  facilities  provided  are 
hopelessly  inadequate  to  meet  any  large  demand  so 


1  yo  Psychology  and  the  Christian  Life 

stimulated.  The  devil  of  sweating  and  industrial 
slavery  is  being  slowly,  but,  I  believe,  surely,  ex- 
orcized, but  thinking  people  are  doing  next  to  noth- 
ing to  fill  the  gap,  and  other  devils  are  slowly  but 
just  as  firmly  establishing  themselves.  What  will 
the  last  state  be  ? 

The  need  is  pressing  and  urgent;  the  shallowest 
argument  by  which  to  make  reply  is  that  "the  pro- 
vision of  these  things  needs  money."  What  is  lack- 
ing even  more  than  the  money  is  any  real  interest 
on  the  part  of  many  of  the  men  and  women  who 
might  be  doing  something,  and  any  intention  of 
sacrificing  their  own  time  in  order  to  put  at  the  dis- 
posal of  others  their  own  advantages.  The  provision 
of  opportunities  for  culture  and  recreation  for  the 
masses  is  regarded  as  a  matter  for  expert  social 
workers  or  charitably-disposed  cranks;  people  do 
not  realize  the  cruel  unfairness  and  the  mad  danger 
involved  in  leaving  the  solution  of  this  problem  for 
ever  to,  comparatively  speaking,  a  handful  of  en- 
thusiasts. It  is  the  concern  of  everyone  who  has 
a  moment  or  a  penny  to  spare,  but,  with  our  golf- 
courses,  our  dancing  and  social  engagements,  many 
men  and  women  have  neither  available;  and,  in 
fairness  be  it  said,  they  do  not  realize  the  tragedy 
of  the  pent-up  energies,  the  unsatisfied  cravings  of 
the  people  of  England,  nor  the  horror  of  those 
energies  bursting  their  banks  and  spreading  waste- 


General  Conclusions  171 

fully  if  not  viciously  wherever  is  presented  the  easiest 
or  most  attractive  outlet. 

You  will  say,  if  you  accept  the  statements  just 
made,  that  after  all  this  is  a  question,  partly,  of 
mere  common  sense.  Exactly  so.  All  the  psychol- 
ogy that  most  of  us  are  likely  to  understand  is 
mainly  applied  common  sense.  It  can  be  acquired 
by  a  careful  study  of  oneself  and  a  sympathetic  ob- 
servation of  other  people  in  the  light  of  what  that 
study  has  revealed  about  human  nature  and  be- 
haviour. If  a  book  or  two  can  be  read  on  the  sub- 
ject so  much  the  better;  such  knowledge  has  been 
put  within  our  reach  and  we  are  meant  to  apply  it. 
Nor  shall  we  trust  in  that  alone.  Our  strength 
cometh  of  God. 


For  Further  Reading 

The  following  books  are  recommended: 

The  Psychology  of  Insanity,  BERNARD  HART. 
A  Textbook  of  Psychology,  WILLIAM  JAMES. 
The  New  Psychology,  A.  G.  TANSLEY. 
Christian  Experience  and  Psychological  Processes,. 

ROUSE  &  MILLER. 
Suggestion  and  Auto-Suggestion,   CHARLES  BAU- 

DOUIN. 
Psychology  and  Psychotherapy,  W.  BROWN,  M.D., 

D.Sc. 

Mind  and  Work,  C.  S.  MYERS. 
The  Spirit,  ED.  B.  H.  STREETER. 
The  Varieties  of  Religious  Experience,  WILLIAM 

JAMES. 
Some  Principles  of  Moral  Theology,  THE  REV.  K. 

KIRK. 


172 


Index 


Act  of  Faith,  67,  71 
Adaptability    (and    Habit), 

22,  31,  37,  85,  145 
Ambition,  28,  79,  90,  109 
Association  of  ideas,  27,  32, 

107,  in,  113 
Atonement,  101 
Attention,  17,  54,  59,  63,  69, 

109,  162 
Authority,  144 

Baudouin,  Charles  (and 
Coue),  ix,  43,  45,  55,  61, 
67 

Censor  (and  Sentinel),  21, 

25,  H3 
Childhood,   39,    56,   71,   76, 

118 

Christian  Science,  40 
Church,  36,  40,  51,  88,  104, 

126,  141,  151 
Common  sense,   18,  30,  38, 

42,    95,     in,     151,     165, 

171 

Community  (see  Society) 
Complex,  vii 
Confession,  40,  105,  no 
Conflict,    24,   32,    101,    103, 

107,  1 10,  127,  132 
Coue,     Emile     (see     Bau- 
douin) 

Crowds,  55,  137,  159 
Cure  of  Souls,  no,  151 
Curiosity,  29,  32 


Day-dream,  65,  70 
Dissociations,   23,    31,    107, 

113,  127 
Dream,  32,  73 

Education,  38,  56,  78,  92 
Effort,  26,  46,   57,  61,   121 
Emotion,  33,  41,  56,  76,  101, 

109 
Energy,   19,  30,  33,  76,  82, 

94,  115,  145,  168 
Environment,    35,    45,    83, 

148,  156 

Esprit  de  corps.  85 
Ethics  (see  Morals) 

Failure,  26,  46,  50,  62,  64, 

102,  in,  161 
Faith,  36,  48,  56,  96,   115, 

123,  142 

Faith-healing,  40,  78,   151 
Fatigue,    36,    42,    114,    123, 

164 
Fear,  29,  32,  44,  56,  79,  116, 

167 
Forgiveness,   101,  103,  no, 

126,  128,  143 
Freewill,  35 

Habit  (see  Adaptability) 
Harmony,  25,  101,  132,  134 
Hate,  33,  126 
Herd  (see  Instinct) 
Heredity,  35,  83,   131 
Holy  Spirit,  36,  58,  69,  118, 

127,  149,  156 


173 


174 


Index 


Homo-sexuality,  76,  93 
Hope,  157 
Hypnosis,  43,  64 

Imagination,  61,  65 

Imitation.  33,  37,  55,  61,  85 

Industry,  36,   166 

Instinct,  primary,  ix,  29,  32, 

75,  80,  83,  96,  109 
religious,  88,  96 
Self,  29,  32,  86,  90 
Sex,  29,  32,  75,  80,  91 
Social  or  herd,  33,  37,  45, 
49,  80,  83,  157 

Intuition,  42,  146 

Irritability,  61,  66,  77,  107, 
114 

Jealousy,  33 

Leadership,  29,  90 

Liar,  77 

Limitations,    42,    100,    151, 

155 

Lourdes,  40 
Love,  29,  33,  44,  88,  94,  101, 

143 

Luck,  65,  1 06 
Lust,  33,  95 

Mascot,  58 

Meditation,  64,  67 

Miracle,  117 

Morals,  morality,  42,  76,  157 

Motive,  20,  26,  32,  91,  143 

Nerves,  nervous  illness,  etc., 

25,  32,  56,  75,  107 
New  Nancy  School,  vii,  42 

Observation,  17,  42,  54,  146, 
165,  171 


Parental  Instinct,  95 
Patriotism,  85 
Penitence      (see      Repent- 
ance) 

Personality,  90,  144,  154 
Physiology,  39,   154 
Pig-headedness,    160 
Politics,  37,  85 
Power,  31,  35,  48,  71,  114, 

143,  ISO,  155 
Prayer,    53,    67,    105,    no, 

123,  126,  131,  143 
Press,  37,  159,  169 
Pride,  33,  80 
Psycho-analysis,  31,  75,  81, 

106,  107 
Psycho-therapy,  39,  45,  78, 

93,  136 
Public  opinion,  55,  74,  157, 

159,  161 

Public  worship,  161 
Pugnacity,   107 
Purpose,  27,  29,  33,  83,  91, 

in,  133,  158 

Recreation,  95,  170 
Re-direction  of  energy,  76, 

82,  89,  93,  102,  169 
Remorse,  101,  115 
Repentance,  40,  82,  100 
Repression,  23,  32,  75,  103, 

105,  109,  127 

Self-examination,    81,    104, 

128 

Selfishness,  49,  79,  86,  168 
Sense  of  guilt,  102,  1 14,  143 
Sentinel   (see  Censor) 
Service,  49,  84,  87,  133 
Sex,  73  and  see  Instinct 
Shell-shock,  109 
Sin,  72,  81,  149 
Sinlessness,  117 


Index 


175 


Society    (and  Community),     Temperament,  25,  94,   146, 


49,  84,  87, 


155 


Sub-conscious  mind,  21,  27,     Temptation,  76,  81,  119,  149 

30,  36,  43,  64,  103 
Sublimate,  vii 
Suggestion,  20,  31,  42,  45,     Will,  20,  33,  43,  60,  70,  76, 


63,  120,  148,  158 
auto,  45,  59,  130 
hetero,  44,  136 


100,  150 

Worry,    57,    62,    105,    in, 
114 


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